Overview

Penang's Chinatown has its heart at Lebuh Campbell and is marked out by Jalan Penang, Jalan Magazine and the coast fronts. Pre-war shop houses predominate, most are around a century old and face the unsympathetic repeal of rent control. The weight of a heritage, an entrenched way of life, combining business and living quarters in the same premises, lends a uniqueness of character that is an irreplaceable anchor to the community. The degree of authenticity is such that the existing street architecture needed no makeup for its part in a movie set in nineteenth century Siam.