Country Malaysia Website www.mbpp.gov.my Local time Sunday 10:59 PM | State Penang Postal code 10470 | |
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District Northeast Penang Island Time zone Malaysian Standard Time (UTC+8) Weather 27°C, Wind SE at 3 km/h, 89% Humidity | ||
Tanjung Tokong is a suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. It is located along the northeastern coast of Penang Island, next to Pulau Tikus and 7 km away from George Town proper. Over the recent decades, the former fishing village has been transformed into an upper class residential suburb of George Town, with high-rises such as Straits Quay lining the coast.
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Map of Tanjung Tokong, Penang, Malaysia
The area had already been inhabited for decades prior to Captain Francis Light's founding of Penang Island in 1786. Tanjung Tokong was believed to be the site of the first Chinese settlement on Penang Island. Up until the 1970s, Tanjung Tokong was a fishing village and the sea was certainly much cleaner in the past.
At present, the reclamation of land is ongoing off the shores of Tanjung Tokong, creating a new township - Seri Tanjung Pinang.
Due to its location along the northern coast of Penang Island, Tanjung Tokong was hard hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
History
In the mid-18th century, a Chinese by the name of Zhang Li founded a fishing village at what is now Tanjung Tokong. He had actually intended to sail from China to Sumatra, but the rough seas pushed him to Penang Island instead. His arrival at Tanjung Tokong preceded Captain Francis Light's landing on Penang Island by about 40 years. To this day, Zhang Li, whose grave still lies at Tanjung Tokong, is worshipped by ethnic Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore as Tua Pek Kong, a local deity.
Tanjung Tokong remained a quiet fishing village until the 1970s, when the urbanisation of the area began. Low-rise apartments were followed by higher condominiums that were constructed along the shoreline. In addition, land reclamation is currently being carried out off the coastline as part of the Seri Tanjung Pinang project. The new Straits Quay marina was created at the newly reclaimed land and opened to the public in 2011.
These developments have led to an increase in the standards of living, as Tanjung Tokong grew into an upscale suburb of George Town, similar to neighbouring Pulau Tikus. However, the land reclamation projects were also thought to have caused the siltation of nearby Gurney Drive, one of George Town's famous seaside promenades. As of 2016, another land reclamation project is being conducted off Gurney Drive itself to create Gurney Wharf, thus rectifying the siltation issue.
Tanjung Tokong was one of the hardest hit areas during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that ultimately claimed a total of 52 lives in Penang.