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Who was Cheong Fatt
Tze?
Cheong Fatt Tze was one of the great characters
of Penang's Chinese elite in the early twentieth century.
Today, his house in Penang, Malaysia, is both
museum and a very comfortable 38-room guest house.
Cheong Fatt Tze rose from being a water carrier in Javanese
mines to having a fleet of ships, eight wives, and several
houses - of which his house in Penang was his favorite.
His late nineteenth century rags-to-riches tale has
led to him been described as 'China's last Mandarin
and first capitalist'.
Architecture of La
Maison Bleue
The Mansion is a superbly restored example of a paradigm
Chinese Courtyard house and winner of a UNESCO conservation
award. The architecture reflects Straits Settlements
design and the eclecticism of its era - when the myths
and magic of the Chinese Kingdom embraced the glory
of the British Empire. The dazzling indigo-blue house,
known as 'La Maison Bleue' (the blue house) has
been the location for several films including "Indochine"
with Catherine Denueve.
Master craftsmen were imported from China in the 1880s
and again in the restoration in the 1990s. The Mansion
has been embellished with Chinese timber carvings
and porcelain cut-and-paste decorative shard
works as well as Gothic louvred windows, art nouveau
stained glass panels, Stoke-on-Trent floor tiles
and Scottish cast iron works. It's an extraordinary
tribute to the construction and design skills of the
past, evokes the age of wives, concubines and handmaidens
aplenty, coyly hiding behind gilded Chinese lattice
screens and gossamer silk curtains.
Staying in the Mansion
and visiting Georgetown
Located in the historic quarter of Georgetown,
the Mansion incorporates 38 rooms, five granite-paved
courtyards, seven staircases, and 220 vernacular timber
louvre windows. 110 years of history resonates within
its cool, secluded, tropical spaces. To stay here is
to discover the beauty of "Jian Nian",
"Feng Shui" and other ancient arts.
Guests can stay in 16 generously proportioned and uniquely
themed bedrooms echoing the interior architecture of
various periods in Penang. All rooms are fully air-conditioned
and come with an en-suite bathroom and a personal valet
to allow for an exotic and luxuriant stay.
Georgetown is a gourmet paradise with authentic
ethnic cuisine on every street, ranging from Northern
Indian to Nonya-Baba delights, street hawkers'
fare to Hokkien, Hainanese, and Cantonese home
cooking. |
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More information
Address:
14 Leith Street, 10200, Penang, Malaysia
Telephone:
60 (0) 4 262 0006
Opening hours:
You can join a tour of the house daily at 11.00 am or
3.00 pm.
Admission price:
The tour costs RM 10, a night's stay starts from RM
250.
Website:
www.cheongfatttzemansion.com
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