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Clan Jetties Of Penang

Maritime Communities of One Name

Near the east coast of Georgetown, Penang, there are wooden jetties extending into the sea, most of which are hundreds of years old, and are collectively called Clan Jetties of Penang because of the Chinese clansmen of the same surname living in the wooden houses on both sides of the bridge. The Lim, Chew, Tan and Lee jetties are the representatives of them.

Near the east coast of Georgetown, Penang, there are several Wooden Jetties Extending into the Sea, most of which were built in the 19th century and have a history of hundreds of years. Each wooden bridge is lined with wooden houses inhabited by Chinese clansmen of the same surname, thus the collective name Clan Jetties.

The bridges are supported by Concrete Pillars Standing in the Sea, on which wooden boards and wooden houses are erected. The ancestors of the inhabitants of each Clan Jetty come from different villages in Fujian, China, so each jetty has Their Own Temples and Shrines.

Manywhere Trivia:
It is said that since the residents of the Clan Jetties do not live on Penang’s land, they do not have to pay taxes.

There are seven surviving Clan Jetties in Penang, which vary in length and the number of houses. The Lim, Chew, Tan and Lee jetties are representative of them, and there are also the Yeoh Jetty, the Koay Jetty, and the Mixed Surname Jetty.

The Chew Clan Jetty consists of two wooden jetties 182 meters long and 122 meters long, with a total of 75 dwellings. As The Most Commercially Developed Clan Jetty, most of the wooden houses on the Chew Clan Jetty have been converted into stores selling snacks and souvenirs.

The Tan Clan Jetty is more than 200 meters long, ranking first among the Clan Jetties. At the end of the wooden jetty in the sea, there is a temple dedicated to the A-Ma, the Chinese sea goddess.

Nostalgic billboard

Manywhere Trivia:
There were originally 9 clan Jetties, two of them were demolished in 2006 for urban renewal.

In the 1960s, when the Penang Ferry Terminal was under construction, the Lee Clan who lived there had to move and rebuild Lee Clan Jetty. Compared with other jetties, the planning and the residential environment of Lee Jetty have been significantly improved.

The Lim Clan Jetty has 30 existing residences, all of which are concentrated on the south side of the wooden jetty, mostly rebuilt after World War II.