Khoo Kongsi

A kongsi is a clan association, and the Khoo built theirs as a walled enclave in the heart of George Town: a square of terrace houses facing inward, a permanent opera stage, an administration block, and at the head of it the clan temple. The hall as it stands dates from the early twentieth century, rebuilt after a fire, and is carved to an extraordinary density, with granite pillars, gilded beams, cut porcelain roof figures and painted panels recording ancestors and examination successes. The lanes into the square are so narrow that the building arrives without warning. A small museum in the undercroft explains the migration and the lineage system, and the whole enclave is still owned and used by the association today.

History

The Khoo Kongsi is the clan association of the Leong San Tong, the Dragon Mountain Hall, whose forefathers came from XinAn village in today's Haicang District of Xiamen, in Fujian, and the Khoos were among the wealthy Straits Chinese traders of Malacca and early Penang. Emigrants of the family built the first clanhouse in 1851; in 1901 it was lost to fire, said to have been struck by lightning, which the Chinese took as a sign that its likeness to the Emperor's palace had provoked the gods, and a scaled-down hall was begun in 1902 and finished in 1906, at the height of the clan's wealth. In the 19th century the complex worked like a small clan village with its own self-government and educational, financial and welfare bodies, and Chinese opera is still staged in its theatre in the seventh lunar month (Wikipedia, Khoo Kongsi).

What's there

• The clan temple hall - gilded beams, granite columns and dense relief carving.
• The roof ridge figures - cut porcelain scenes crowded along the eaves.
• The opera stage - the small permanent theatre facing the temple across the square.
• The clan museum - the undercroft displays on migration and the association's history.

When to go

Open daily in daytime hours, quietest in the first hour after opening. Late afternoon light falls well on the carved facade. Chinese New Year brings decoration and crowds together in equal measure. Allow time to walk the surrounding lanes, which hold other clan houses and the jetty settlements and are part of the same fabric.

What to expect

The ticket is not cheap for a single building, and the visit is essentially one hall plus a small museum, so it takes about an hour. Coach groups fill the square in the middle of the day and make photography without other people almost impossible. Some painted panels have faded badly, and restoration work rotates around the building in sections.

Nearby

The clan jetties, Armenian Street and other clan houses are all within ten minutes on foot.

Key facts