Khoo Kongsi
龙山堂邱公司
Malaysia's most ornate Chinese clan temple, rebuilt in 1906 in Hokkien style, its halls covered in stone carvings, woodcarvings and cut-and-paste porcelain. Hidden in a small square in the old town, it tells the legendary story of the Khoo clan in Southeast Asia.
Khoo Kongsi is an enclosed square between Cannon Street and Lebuh Armenian, which is the ancestral hall and guildhall of the Khoo clan from Xinjiang, Zhangzhou, Fujian, in Penang. It was first built in 1851. In 1901, it was struck by lightning and burned down, reportedly because it was too ornate and “offended the gods.” It was rebuilt in 1906 to its present scale and is the best-preserved and most finely decorated Chinese clan temple in Malaysia. The hall stands on a stone platform about 1.5 m high, and its façade features a Hokkien-style double-eaved hip roof with ridges densely decorated with cut-and-paste porcelain dragons, phoenixes and figures. The main hall, Leng San Tong, houses the ancestral tablets of the Khoo clan. Flanking it, the Fook Tek Chee shrine houses the Tua Peh Kong. In the front hall, the stone columns, lions and wall reliefs depicting the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars and historical tales were made by craftsmen invited from Fujian. The wooden beams are entirely gilded, and the ceiling paintings are exquisite. The ground floor holds a museum that presents Khoo clan history and Chinese migration to Southeast Asia, explaining clan systems and the family's commercial and political influence in Penang. Around the square are the rows of houses where Khoo clan members live, and a stage. The film “Anna and the King” was filmed here. Admission is about RM15. It's open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Allow about 45 to 60 minutes. Nearby ancestral halls, including the Cheah, Yeoh and Lim clan temples, can be visited on the way, and the Mural Street is a 3-minute walk away. Note: flash photography is prohibited inside the temple. Don't touch carvings or shrines. The surrounding alleys are private homes, so please keep quiet.
Opening hours
09:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- Penang Street Art – Armenian Street
- Sun Yat-sen Museum Penang
- Kapitan Keling Mosque
- George Town UNESCO Heritage Zone
- Little India, George Town
- Clan Jetties (Chew Jetty)
- Kuan Yin Teng (Goddess of Mercy Temple)
- Chulia Street & Love Lane