Cheong Fatt Tze - The Blue Mansion, George Town (must see)

Cheong Fatt Tze’s residence is better known as the Blue Mansion, a name inspired by its indigo-blue limewashed walls. Cheong rose from poverty after leaving Guangdong during the upheaval of the Second Opium War and built a commercial empire across Southeast Asia, earning the nickname “Rockefeller of the East.” An industrialist, politician and philanthropist, he commissioned the mansion at 43 Leith Street as a family residence, business headquarters and administrative office.

Construction began in 1897 and was completed in 1904. The two-storey mansion contains 38 rooms, five granite-paved courtyards, seven staircases and 220 timber-louvred windows. Its design combines the bilateral symmetry of a traditional Chinese courtyard house with European materials and decorative styles. Gothic details appear alongside Chinese motifs, creating one of George Town’s most elaborate examples of eclectic architecture.

Start exploring the mansion by stepping through the main wooden entrance gates into the reception hall, where mother-of-pearl inlaid chairs and gilded timber screens line the traditional Chinese reception area.

The mansion's layout was also carefully planned according to feng shui principles. Open courtyards admit daylight, encourage ventilation and collect rainwater, while the arrangement of rooms was intended to promote harmony and prosperity.

For the next highlight, go past the entrance hall's timber partitions into the central open-air courtyard, surrounded by Scottish cast-iron columns and granite paving designed to collect rainwater.

To reach the next level, step out of the courtyard into the covered side wings, where you can take either of the two ornamental wooden staircases up to the second floor. There, the space opens onto an upper balcony gallery, featuring geometric Stoke-on-Trent floor tiles and Scottish Art Nouveau stained-glass windows.

After Cheong’s death in 1916, the property declined and was divided among numerous tenants. It was purchased from his descendants in 1989 and restored during the 1990s. The conservation project later received a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award.

Today, the Blue Mansion operates as a boutique hotel and museum, with selected rooms and courtyards accessible on tours. Its Indigo restaurant occupies part of the property. The mansion has appeared in numerous films and television programmes, including Indochine and Crazy Rich Asians, although its indigo façade, courtyards and richly furnished interiors remain its main attractions.