Incense burner at the Relau Tua Pek Kong (14 January 2006)
Relau Tua Pek Kong Temple
Relau Tua Pek Kong Temple, or by its formal name Guang Yu Ci, is the principal Chinese Taoist temple in the village of Relau. This is the village temple for the local Taoists. It was first built in 1896 through the donation collected by Hokkien and Hakka benefactors in Penang and Perak. The temple is erected for the worship of Tua Pek Kong, literally Great Grand Uncle, the 18th century Hakka scholar by the name Zhang Li, who is worshipped locally as the god of prosperity.
Over the years, the appearance of Relau has transformed, from an essentially rural village to a suburb of the Penang metropolitan area. The temple and its immediate houses are now surrounded by high rise apartments. The temple itself has also been given a total makeover, and no longer resembling the small shed that it once was.
Getting there
It is best to explore this by car or hired car, as the Relau Tua Pek Kong temple is not a major sight, and hence you would not be spending more than 20 minutes here. If you are taking the bus, from the Weld Quay Bus Terminal, take Rapid Penang Bus U301. Seek help from locals to press the bell for you or to find out when you have arrived in Relau. From the Relau main road, walk a short distance down a little lane to reach the Tua Pek Kong temple (You can try saying in a mixture of Malay and Hokkien: Manakah Tua Pek Kong arm?).
What to see and do
The Relau Tua Pek Kong Temple is not a major tourist sight. It is more than likely to be frequented by worshippers and devotees. Nevertheless, wander around the temple and admire the Hokkien temple architecture.
Finding Accommodation in Penang
If you're going to Penang, you now have the option of finding accommodation in a hotel, or look for one in hostels and guesthouses. To book a room in a star-rated hotel, use the Penang Hotel Guide for Budget Travelers. To find accommodation in a Hostel or Guesthouse, use the Penang Guide to Hostels and Guesthouses. Each link provides detailed listing of the type of accommodation you can expect in Penang. Be aware that you get what you pay for. If you need a certain degree of comfort, then a star-rated hotel may be an ideal option for you. On the other hand, if you are able to forego a bit of creature comfort, then hostels and guesthouses are clean, safe, and incredibly good value for money. For accommodation in other destinations, visit Hotel Guide for Budget Travelers or Hostels & Guesthouses Accommodation Guide.
Relau Tua Pek Kong Temple Photo Gallery
View of the Relau Tua Pek Kong Temple during Chinese New Year (14 January 2006)
Let us keep you updated on everything related to Penang. Just copy and paste our link to your website or blog.
Here's the latest updates from my websites ...
Thank you very much for visiting Penang Travel Tips! My name is Tim. I am the writer of this website. I created it to share with travel enthusiasts information that I have assembled about Penang, which I hope is useful to you, and is as accurate as I am able to put together.
Penang Travel Tips combines my knowledge of Penang with talking to people, asking questions, taking photographs, snooping around, and lots and lots of research. I hope that through Penang Travel Tips, budget travelers can explore Penang on their own. This is one of over a dozen websites that I write - you can click my thumbnail photo above to randomly visit any one of them. All my photos are available for commercial printing - find out the photo usage rights here. If you wish to share your photos on this website, upload them to Panoramio (www.panoramio.com) and send the URL to me for consideration. I would love to display your photos here. Also, if you have additional information about the places I have written about, please write and tell me about it. If I include your information, I will provide an acknowledgement within the page.
I want to thank all of you who have written to me providing support and encouragement, and thanks also to those who helped me make the information more accurate. If you'd like to correspond with me, send your mails to my address as shown below:
