Kuala Terengganu Chinatown

Kampung Cina is essentially one street running along the waterfront in the middle of Kuala Terengganu, settled by Chinese traders from at least the eighteenth century, and it survives as a continuous run of prewar shophouses with the narrow alleys between them that in Penang would be called lorong and here are known for the murals painted through them since the district's revival. There is a Chinese temple, coffee shops, small hotels in restored shophouses, craft and antique shops, and a night market on the weekend. The heritage walkway extends along the river with the drawbridge in view. In a state that is overwhelmingly Malay and conservative, the street is a reminder of the trading past of the coast, and it is compact - an hour covers the walk and another hour the eating.

What you actually see

• A single shophouse street - prewar buildings running along the waterfront.
• Painted alleys - murals through the narrow lanes between the shophouses.
• A Chinese temple and coffee shops - the working core of the community.
• A riverside walkway - along the water with the drawbridge in view.

When to go

All year; weekend evenings for the night market. Two hours.

Honest expectations

It is one street and quickly walked. Some shophouses are empty or in poor repair. Terengganu's weekend is Friday and Saturday, which catches out visitors expecting Sunday opening.

Nearby

Pasar Payang, the drawbridge and Pulau Duyong are all close.