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| Picture 1. Chung Thye Phin's residence in Penang (c. 1907). |
Photographs and a short passage on Chung Thye Phin (1879-1935), the last Kapitan China of Perak, extracted from the book "Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources" (1908) (Pictures 1-7).
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| Picture 2. Chung Thye Phin's residence in Penang (c. 1907). |
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| Picture 3. Passage from "Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources" (1908). |
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| Picture 4. Perak State Council, (c. 1907). |
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| Picture 5. Chung Thye Phin's mine near Tronoh. |
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| Picture 6. Chung Thye Phin's mine in Taiping |
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| Picture 7. Chung Thye Phin's offices in Ipoh & Penang |
A tin miner, a revenue farmer, a member of the Perak State Council, and later a member of the Federal Council, he was one of the richest man in Malaya. The mansion which is also depicted in an old postcard (Picture 8) came with grand entertaining rooms and subterranean passageways that connects to underground chambers and an undersea wing.
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| Picture 8. Chung Thye Phin' residence in Penang (c. 1900s). |
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| Picture 9. Shanghai Hotel, Penang (c. 1950s). |
This palatial structure was located at Kelawai Road, Gurney Drive, Penang. After Chung Thye Phin's death, it was sold and turned into a hotel (The Shanghai Hotel) in the late 1930s (Picture 9). It was later demolished in 1964 and on its footprint now stands 1 Persiaran Gurney Condominium.
References:
1. "Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources" Arnold Wright, H. A. Cartwright, Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co. Ltd., 1908.
2.
"Penang: 500 Early Postcards". Cheah Jin Seng, 2012. Didier Millet.
3.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chung_Thye_Phin
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