Penang Road is a major thoroughfare in the city of
George Town in
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 ...
. It runs between
Farquhar Street to the north and
KOMTAR
The Tun Abdul Razak Complex, ( Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak; Chinese: 光大大厦; Tamil: கொம்டார் கோபுரம்); colloquially known by its Malay acronym Komtar, formerly known as the Penang New Urban Center and t ...
to the south. The road is a one-way road, with the traffic directed southwards towards
KOMTAR
The Tun Abdul Razak Complex, ( Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak; Chinese: 光大大厦; Tamil: கொம்டார் கோபுரம்); colloquially known by its Malay acronym Komtar, formerly known as the Penang New Urban Center and t ...
.
Penang Road is one of the major streets in
George Town, as it is heavily used daily by motorists and
Rapid Penang
Rapid Penang (styled as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand in the State of Penang, Malaysia. Formed as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia in 2007, to date it is the main public transport operator within Penang; its bus network serves commut ...
public buses heading towards
KOMTAR
The Tun Abdul Razak Complex, ( Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak; Chinese: 光大大厦; Tamil: கொம்டார் கோபுரம்); colloquially known by its Malay acronym Komtar, formerly known as the Penang New Urban Center and t ...
from the
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 ...
Site
Site most often refers to:
* Archaeological site
* Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area
* Construction site
* Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere
* Website, a set of related web pages, typically ...
and
Gurney Drive
Gurney Drive (,, ) is a popular seafront promenade within George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The road is also famous for the street cuisine at the seafront's hawker centre and has been listed as one of the 25 best streets worldwide to visit by the A ...
. In addition, Penang Road is home to a number of attractions, such as the bars at Upper Penang Road and Chowrasta Market, one of the few wet markets still in operation within
George Town. In particular, Chowrasta Market offers a variety of local produce and pastries unique to
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 ...
, such as nutmegs and tau sar pneah biscuits.
A number of hotels also line the Upper Penang Road stretch between
Farquhar
Farquhar is a surname of Scotland, Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''fearchar'', from ''fear'' ("man") and ''car'' ("beloved"). Farquharson is a further derivation of the name, meaning "son of Farquhar". The name originated as a g ...
and
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
Streets.
History
Penang Road was one of the first roads to be built outside the original town area planned by
Francis Light
Captain Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light and his lifelong partner, Martina Rozells, were th ...
. For centuries, Penang Road has served as a retail street, especially along the stretch running in front of Chowrasta Market. The market was built in the 1890s.
The Penang Police Headquarters at Penang Road was the scene of a number of executions by the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
during the
Japanese Occupation period in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Landmarks
*
Komtar
The Tun Abdul Razak Complex, ( Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak; Chinese: 光大大厦; Tamil: கொம்டார் கோபுரம்); colloquially known by its Malay acronym Komtar, formerly known as the Penang New Urban Center and t ...
*
Chowrasta Market
* Upper Penang Road
* Penang Police Headquarters
Hotels
The upper-class hotels are located near Upper Penang Road, along the stretch between
Farquhar
Farquhar is a surname of Scotland, Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''fearchar'', from ''fear'' ("man") and ''car'' ("beloved"). Farquharson is a further derivation of the name, meaning "son of Farquhar". The name originated as a g ...
and
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
Streets.
* Continental Hotel
* Hotel Malaysia
* Cititel
* The Merchant Hotel
* Towne House Hotel
* Grand Inn
* Oriental Hotel
* Hotel Central
See also
*
Street names of George Town, Penang
The street names of George Town reflect the multicultural heritage of the city, the capital of the former British settlement of Penang, now part of Malaysia.
Most streets in the city were built and named during the colonial era, and the histo ...
References
{{GTRoad
Roads in Penang
George Town, Penang