Visit Malaysia Year Haiku - Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (State Of Penang) Poem by john tiong chunghoo

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
more poetic than words on doors
the rustle of bamboos

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
the bamboo trees give us
a rustling welcome

chip by chip
an old broken mansion
wins back the years

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
the only thing they cant bring back
Mr Cheong Fatt Tze

Cheong Fatt Tze mansion belonged to Cheong, one of the most influential men in South East Asia in the 19th Century. He served as an economic advisor to Empress Tze Hsi and his businesses at its height spanned the globe. He started out in Jakarta but chose to settle down in Penang where he constructed this huge and stately mansion painted in a unique indigo colour. He had eight wives. The bungalow went into decay after his death but was restored to its splendour in the recent past and is now a hotel for guests who love heritage. Penang wasd
accorded UNESCO world heritage site July,2008.

Cheong Fatt Tze mansion has been featured in various films including the 1993 Oscar-winning French film 'Indochine' starring Catherine Deneuve, and has also been featured in programs broadcast on various international tv channels (CNN, BCC) .

Awards
1995 Malaysian National Architectural Award For Conservation
2000 UNESCO 'Most Excellent' Heritage Conservation Award
'Best Tourist Attraction 2003' Merit Award - Malaysian Ministry of Culture, Arts & Tourism
ASEANTA 2004 Excellence Award; ASEAN Cultural Preservation Effort

Read more: http: //www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/