Clan Jetties of Penang
Wooden stilt village of Chinese clan houses built over the harbor, joined by narrow plank walkways.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Clan Jetties of Penang opens just after midnight on February 4, 2009, when fire tore through five wooden houses on Chew Jetty, a day after ten thousand people had packed the same planks for the Jade Emperor's birthday. It traces the jetties back to the 1880s, when the Chew clan and five others arrived from Tong'an in Fujian province and, without money for land on shore, built outward over the harbor mud instead. You'll hear how officials in a modernizing city came to view these stilt houses, and what happened to two of the original jetties as recently as 2006. Listen for the creak of the planks underfoot as you walk between the houses.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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