Teluk Intan Leaning Tower

The tower was built in 1885 by a Chinese contractor, Leong Choon Chong, as a water tank for the town with a clock added, and it is about twenty-five metres high in eight tiers - which read from outside as a pagoda but are internally three floors. Not long after completion the soft alluvial ground on one side gave way under the weight of the full tank and the structure tipped, and it has stayed tilted since, which is how a functional utility became the town's landmark and its name. The clock still works and the bell was cast in England. Inside there are stairs to the upper level, though access has been intermittent. The lean is real but modest, so photographs tend to exaggerate it by tilting the camera the other way.

What you actually see

• An 1885 water tower - eight external tiers over three internal floors.
• A genuine lean - the tilt from ground settling under the full tank.
• A working clock and English bell - still keeping time over the town.
• A small-town centre - the tower standing in the middle of Teluk Intan.

When to go

All year. An hour.

Honest expectations

The lean is modest in person and less dramatic than photographs suggest. Interior access has been on and off. There is little else in the immediate area; it is a stop rather than a destination.

Nearby

Tanjung Tualang and the tin dredge are north-east; Ipoh is beyond.