Enter The Tiger

I found myself in Kuala Lumpur during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration last Sunday, wandering around Chinatown and visiting the temples in the area. I was fortunate to witness the various religious rituals practiced by the local Chinese community to welcome the New Year.



The Chinese population of Malaysia originated from the settlements established by Hokkien traders in Melaka in the 15th century and the mass migration from China during the tin mining boom in the 19th century. Around the 1850s Raja Abdullah, Malay Chief of Klang, expanded the mines in Ampang . He hired Chinese laborers who arrived and settled at the confluence of the Gumbak and Klang river. This muddly riverbank evolved into a frontier town that would eventually become the city of Kuala Lumpur.

The religious beliefs and practices of the Chinese immigrants are a mixture of influences from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Several temples were built around Kuala Lumpur and they still remain as central places of faith and community for the Malaysian Chinese today. Just around the area of Petaling Street Market in Chinatown, there are three significant temples which are just short walks from each other.

Tucked behind the shop houses along Tun HS Lee and Lebuh Pudu, the Sin Sze Si Ya (or Sze Ya) is supposedly the oldest temple in city. It was built in 1864 by Yap Ah Loy, the Sultan-appointed headman of the Chinese settlers, and the recognized founder of KL. The odd location was based on an advice from a deity, who spoke through a possessed medium. Prosperity and wealth was promised if a temple was built on this site.


Sin Sze Si Ya Temple

Guandi Temple along Tun HS Lee was constructed in 1886. It is dedicated to General Kwan Ti, a renowned warrior worshiped by the Taoist as the deity of war. Its main hall is distinctively smoke-filled from the burning incense coils hanging from the ceiling and paper money burned for good fortune.




Guandi Temple

The Chan She Shu Yuen at the southern end of Petaling Street is the clan house of the Yuens, one of the largest and oldest families in KL. Built in 1897 and completed in 1906, it houses the honorary statues of the clan's first ancestor Shun Emperor Chung Hua Master and his descendants. The clan house was a shelter for newly-arrived extended family members from China and is still significant to the cultural heritage of Chinese community of Kuala Lumpur.




Chan She Shu Yuen Clan House