Penang Teochew Association’s Han Jiang Ancestral Temple in George Town, Penang Island

The Penang Teochew Association’s Han Jiang Ancestral Temple is the embodiment of Teochew architecture, culture, tradition and passion. Built in 1870, the temple received the Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award 2006 after undergoing an extensive RM1.5mil restoration.

While master craftsmen from China were brought in to restore the temple to its former glory, it is the association’s steadfast commitment to revitalising the community’s cultural and traditional practices that has truly made it a living heritage worth its weight in gold.

The original Han Jiang Teochew temple was in the form of si dian jing, or four-point gold. This is a quadrangle design with an inner courtyard, or atrium. In 1890, an outer gate was added. In reflection of the prosperity of the community at that time, the gate was even more ornate than the original temple. It also has one of the biggest doors of any clan temples in Penang.

The Han Jiang Temple houses the altar to the Teochew patron deity, the Taoist god of the north as well as ancestral tablets of deceased Teochews. In keeping with the high status of the temple’s patron deity, the Teochew temple features three pairs of doors instead of only one for most temples.

Location of Penang Teochew Association’s Han Jiang Ancestral Temple

127, Chulia Street, George Town, Penang Island.

Source:
http://www.tourismpenang.net.my/heritage_ancestral_temple.html
http://www.penang-traveltips.com/teochew-ancestral-temple.htm