Places of Interest - Penang : The Pearl of Orient



		Kongsi(s) or clan houses are associations originated from China centuries ago for people with the same surname. Today, the have bacome benevolent associations which look after the affairs of members and also safe guard the principles of ancestral worship. The idea of a temple was first mooted in 1836 and was completed 8 years later. The Leong San Tong of the Khoo Kongsi in Cannon Square is the most picturesque clan-temple in Malaysia. The richly ornamented carvings of the roofs, walls and pillars reflect the art and architecture of acient China and mad eof the finest wood. The elaborate Dragon Mountain Hall, built in 1906 and renovated in the mid 1950's contains excellent samples of sculpture created by master crafts-men from China. This celebrated clan house is also one of the most intreicately decorated kongsi(s) in the whole of Malaysia and is definately worth a visit.