Explore Penang

Khoo Kongsi is the clan temple of the Leong San Tong Khoo clan, Hokkien settlers from Fujian, on Cannon Square in the oldest part of George Town. The present temple, completed in 1906, has a heavily carved and gilded hall and roof, and stands with an opera stage, the clan association building and rows of clan houses around a granite-paved square.

The Kapitan Keling Mosque in George Town was founded in 1801 by the Indian Muslim community under its leader Cauder Mohudeen, on land granted by the British. The first timber mosque was rebuilt in brick in the 1810s and later enlarged in a Mughal-Moorish style, with domes, turrets and horseshoe arches. It stands on Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling in the World Heritage Site.

The Goddess of Mercy Temple, also called Kuan Im Teng or Kong Hock Keong, stands on Pitt Street in George Town and was built in 1800, making it the oldest Chinese temple in Penang. First dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu, it has been devoted to Guanyin since 1824 and is a focus of Chinese festivals, with incense burners in the forecourt before its ornate roof.

St. George's Church on Farquhar Street in George Town is an Anglican church completed in 1818 and consecrated in 1819, the oldest purpose-built Anglican church in Southeast Asia. Its white Georgian design with a Doric portico and spire was modelled on St. George's Cathedral in Madras; a domed memorial pavilion stands on the lawn, and it became a pro-cathedral in 2023.

The Dhammikarama Burmese Temple on Lorong Burma in George Town is a Theravada monastery founded by the Burmese community in 1803, and the only Burmese temple in Penang. Its oldest part is a stupa consecrated in 1805; stone elephants guard the ordination hall, and the gardens hold statues of chinthe lions, the garuda and other mythical creatures.

Wat Chayamangkalaram is a Theravada Buddhist temple on Lorong Burma in George Town, founded in 1845 on land granted to the Siamese community and the oldest Siamese temple in Penang. Its hall holds a reclining Buddha about 33 metres long, completed in 1958, and the grounds are lined with painted yaksha guardians, nagas and other mythical figures.

Kek Lok Si is a Buddhist temple complex on a hillside at Air Itam on Penang Island, built between 1890 and 1930 on the initiative of the abbot Beow Lean. Its halls climb the slope to the seven-storey Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and a 36.57-metre bronze statue of the goddess Guanyin stands under a pavilion above. Visitors are welcome with modest dress.