Cintra Street, George Town

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Lebuh Cintra

Cintra Street is a street within the Chinatown area of George Town. It starts at Chulia Street and ends at Kimberley Street, across from Sungai Ujong Road. It is intersected by Campbell Street. Kampung Malabar also ends at Cintra Street.

Cintra Street was named after an event that was totally unrelated to Penang, safe except for the fact that one of the protagonists was Sir Arthur Wellesley, after whom Province Wellesley was named after. The aforementioned event was the signing of the Convention of Sintra, named after the Portuguese town of Sintra (written Cintra in English), a municipality within the District of Lisbon. The Convention of Sintra allowed French troops to withdraw and evacuate from Portugal, which they had earlier invaded, following their defeat by Anglo-Portuguese forces led by Wellesley.

The Convention of Sintra was an embarrassment as well as a disgrace to the United Kingdom, because two incompetent superiors to Wellesley, namely Sir Harry Burrard and Sir Hew Dalrymple, allowed the defeated troops to "escape" any form of punishment. They were allowed free transport and travelled loaded - meaning they went home with valuables that they had looted. Wellesley wanted to fight, but was overruled by his superiors. An official inquiry was held, the result of which saw Wellesley returning to active duty, which the two superiors were quietly pressured into retirement.

For much of the 19th and early 20th century, Cintra Street was a red light district. The section between Kampung Malabar and Campbell Streets was where brothels with Japanese prostitutes were found. These prostitutes, called Karayuki-san, meaning "Ms Gone Overseas", were girls from impoverished rural Japanese families. Many are believed to be buried at the Japanese Cemetery (just as is the case with the Japanese Cemetery in Sandakan). The section of Cintra Street between Campbell and Kimberley Street was also another red light area, with cheap brothels stocked with prostitutes from other races.

Today we can no longer find such prostitution dens operating along Cintra Street - not openly, anyway. In the 1960's, People's Court, one of the earliest housing estates in Penang, was built to provide housing to low-income earners. It is today the heart of Chinatown with a number of popular Chinese restaurants. The most popular is De Tai Tung. Foo Heong Restaurant was famous in the 1970's but has since lost its lustre. Also along Cintra Street is a famous Hum Chin Peng stall and a herbal tea stall.

Getting there

From the Komtar Bus Terminal, walk along Jalan Ria, cross Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong and enter Jalan Sungai Ujong. Walk along Jalan Sungai Ujong until Kimberley Street. Cintra Street is located across Kimberley Street.

Click for list of Streets of George Town

In Other Words ...

Hokkien:
Sin Kay Hoan Kay: cross street from Campbell Street
Ji Pun Huan Kay: Japanese brothel street
Phah Phau Kay: Low-class brothel street

Cintra Street Location Map

Photos of Cintra Street

Cintra Street sign (17 December 2008)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Cintra Street plaque (17 December 2008)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Cintra Street (17 December 2008)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

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Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The text is the copyright of Timothy Tye, and may not be copied for commercial use or re-published in another website without the author's permission. Information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. Photographs on this website are the copyright of the author and may not be reused without prior permission. For commercial licensing of photographs, read the licensing terms.