Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
been described as Chinese Palladian and Chinese baroque. A finely restored example of this style can be found at
8 Heeren St
(
Click here
).
An intriguing insight into the local vernacular can be gleaned from the
Baba-Nonya Heritage Museum
(
Click here
)
. Opposite the Hotel Puri, the classical-style building set back from the street is the
Chee Man-
sion
, a Chinese family shrine not open to the public.
Opposite the
Eng Choon (Yong Chun) Association
is a well-kept Chinese guildhall containing a small
shrine to two Taoist deities. Chinese characters written on the building mean 'peace to the country and the
people'. Backtrack along Jln Tun Tan Cheng Lock and walk north up Jln Hang Lekir along which is
Leong
San Thong (Dragon Hill Hall)
, built in 1928. At the junction, turn left onto Jln Hang Jebat, formerly known as
Jonker's St, once famed for its antique and craft shops and still a great street to peruse.
Continuing northwest, you'll approach the all-white
Hang Kasturi's Tomb
on your right; there is no his-
torical evidence that the tomb is the final resting place of the great warrior. Further along on your left is the small,
modern and pink
Guanyin Temple (Guanyin Tang)
, dedicated to the Buddhist goddess of compassion.
Seated in the second hall is the Taoist Jade Emperor, flanked by two attendants.
Turn right here and head up Jln Tokong Emas (Temple St) and past the
Wah Teck Kiong Temple
and the
Guangfu Temple (Guangfu Gong)
, before arriving at the elaborate and celebrated
Cheng Hoon Teng
Temple
(
Click here
). Opposite is the more recently constructed
Xianglin (Fragrant Forest) Temple
, which
endeavours to follow the layout of a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple. Adding splashes of colour to Jln
Tokong Emas are the Chinese shops selling red and gold lanterns, paper money and funerary preparations.
Further along Jln Tokong Emas you'll pass the recently restored
Kampung Kling Mosque
and
Sri
Poyatha Venayagar Moorthi Temple
. Slightly further ahead is the
Sanduo Temple (Sanduo Miao)
, another
Chinese shrine encapsulating effigies of Da Bo Gong, Jin Hua Niang Niang (whom women entreat for children)
and Kuan Yin.
Backtrack and turn left along the exterior wall of the mosque back along Jln Hang Lekiu (Fourth Cross St) to
Jln Hang Jebat. Stroll back to Lg Hang Jebat (First Cross St) and the bridge, noting the decorative touches along
the way - mosaics, tiling, inlaid coloured stones, carvings, Western-style balustrades, balconies, shutters and or-
namentation.
Cross back to the Town Square and clamber up the steps leading to the top of Bukit St Paul, topped by the fab-
ulous ruins of
St Paul's Church
(
Click here
)
. There are steps down the hill from the church to
Porta de
Santiago
(
Click here
), once the main gate of the Portuguese fortress A'Famosa, originally constructed by Alfonso
de Albuquerque in 1512.
To the northeast, at the base of Bukit St Paul, is the
Sultanate Palace
(
Click here
)
. Across the way, in a
British villa dating from 1911, is the
Proclamation of Independence Memorial
, a museum charting the his-
tory of Malaysia's progression to independence. There's too much to read and perhaps not enough to look at (al-
though the Japanese officer's sword from occupation days is noteworthy). Ironically, this grand building topped
by Mogul-inspired domes was once the Malacca Club, a bastion of colonialism.
Follow Jln Kota around the base of Bukit St Paul and head back to the Town Square. Conclude your walk by
ambling along the short brick promenade on the eastern bank of Sungai Melaka (parallel with Jln Laksmana), and
take in riverine views, bars, the occasional barber and walls of distinctive Dutch bricks.
