The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is a government gazetted heritage building located on Leith Street in George Town,

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The mansion's external decorations and indigo-blue outer walls make it a very distinctive building, and it is sometimes referred to as ''The Blue Mansion''. Built by the merchant

Cheong Fatt Tze Cheong Fatt Tze (born Chang Chin Hsun; 1840–1916), also known as Tjong Tjen Hsoen, Thio Tiauw Siat or Zhang Bishi was a Chinese industrialist, politician and philanthropist. Spending the majority of his life residing in Malaya and the Dutc ...

at the end of the 19th century, the mansion has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 vernacular timber

louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

windows. It served as Cheong's private residence as well as the seat of his business activities in Penang. The mansion is eclectic, but mainly reflects Chinese architectural styles of the Imperial Period. Features of the house include Gothic louvred windows, Chinese cut and paste porcelain work,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

floor tiles made of encaustic clay in geometric pieces all shaped to fit to a perfect square,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

cast iron works by MacFarlane's & Co. and

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows. The mansion was originally built with careful attention to the principles of Feng Shui. The domestic annexe is built in front of it to prevent any road being built to create a T-junction in front of it; it has water running through a meandering network of pipes that begin from the eaves of the roof, channelled through the upper ceiling, down the walls collecting in the central courtyard before being channelled away from the property via a similar network of pipes, in this case, underneath the entire flooring system and is built with a step in the middle to create a slope (to ride on the dragon's back). The distinctive blue colour of the mansion is the result of mixing lime with natural blue dye made from the

indigo plant ''Indigofera'' is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Description Species of ''Indigofera'' are mos ...

. The blue was very popular in the Colonial period and the dye was imported from India to Penang by the British. The lime-wash was very effective in a tropical weather as it absorbed moisture and cooled the house whilst dispelling moisture without damage to the structural integrity of the walls. Though white was the most easily available colour, the indigo-blue was chosen because it was highly prized by all communities, adding stature to the mansion. The mansion was purchased from Cheong Fatt Tze's descendants in 1989 by a group of local Penang individuals to save the edifice from encroaching development and possible demolition. The property operates as an 18 Room Hotel-cum-museum as part of the

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...

of an ongoing restoration project which has won awards from UNESCO. Tours are offered in English three times a day to central parts of the house. In 2016, a restaurant called 'Indigo' opened on the first floor of the mansion. The mansion has been featured in various films including the 1993 Oscar-winning French film ''Indochine'' starring

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

, ''The Red Kebaya'', ''

Road to Dawn ''Road to Dawn'' () is a 2007 Chinese historical film directed by Hong Kong filmmakeDerek Chiu The film depicts an obscure episode in Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary life, when he sought refuge in Penang from July to December 1910. He relocated the S ...

'', ''3rd Generation'' and the critically acclaimed ''

The Blue Mansion ''The Blue Mansion'' is a 2009 film directed by Glen Goei. The film had its world premiere at the 14th Pusan International Film Festival and was released in Singaporean theatres in an edited NC16 version at the request of the distributor on 22 Oc ...

'' in 2009 by Singapore director

Glen Goei Glen Goei (; born 22 December 1962) is one of Singapore's leading film and theatre directors. His broad ranging body of work embraces the full gamut of the performing and visual arts and includes film, theatre, musicals, large scale shows, Wor ...

of ''

Forever Fever ''Forever Fever'' (released as ''That's the Way I Like It'' in the US) is a 1998 Singaporean musical comedy film written and directed by Glen Goei. It stars Adrian Pang as a man who becomes interested in disco once he sees '' Saturday Night Feve ...

'' fame. The mansion has also been featured in programs broadcast on various international television channels (CNN, BCC, The History Channel, Discovery Travel & Living). Most recently the mansion served as one of the locations for the Hollywood blockbuster

Crazy Rich Asians ''Crazy Rich Asians'' is a satirical 2013 romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan. Kwan stated that his intention in writing the novel was to "introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience". He claimed the novel was loosely based on h ...

Awards

* 1995 Malaysian National Architectural Award For Conservation * 2000

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

'Most Excellent' Heritage Conservation Award * 'Best Tourist Attraction 2003' Merit Award - Malaysian Ministry of Culture, Arts & Tourism * ASEANTA 2004 Excellence Award;

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

Cultural Preservation Effort * Featured in Hip Hotels of the Orient - TASCHEN * Best Boutique Hotel 2008 - Best of Malaysia Travel Awards by Expatriate Lifestyle\

References

External links

Official website

Tourism Malaysia - Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in George Town, Penang Houses in Malaysia Art Nouveau architecture in Malaysia Art Nouveau houses Tourist attractions in George Town, Penang

Awards

See also

References

External links