Teong Poh Keong Temple 中寶宮

Teong Poh Keong Temple, Bridge Street, Penang (1 June 2013)


Teong Poh Keong Temple (GPS: 5.40611, 100.33045; Traditional Chinese: 中寶宮, Simplified Chinese: 中宝宫, Penang Hokkien: Teong3 Poh1 Keong1) is a Chinese temple in George Town, Penang. It is also popularly known as the Snake and Tortoise Temple. Although it has its address on Bridge Street, the temple building actually faces Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

Teong Poh Keong venerates the Taoist deity Xuan Wu (玄武), who goes by the title of Xuantian Shangdi (玄天上帝), meaning Mysterious Heavenly Upper Emperor. This is the format I would expect to see when the temple is ready. This Taoist deity is popular with Hokkien people in Fujian, Guangdong and in Southeast Asia. Description of him appears in the classic novel, Journey to the West. The image of Xuan Wu is usually flanked by two attendants, namely General Wan Gong (萬公) and General Wan Ma (萬媽).

The Teong Poh Keong Temple dates to 1935. In the early days, it was just a small shrine. The present building was constructed from 2009 but is only scheduled for completion in April 2013 (I wrote this in February 2013, and updated it in June 2013). It follows the architectural style of Hokkien temples. The front porch is supported by four granite dragon pillars. The front façade is finished with sculptured granite featuring a floral motif.

Teong Poh Keong Temple (1 June 2013)


Teong Poh Keong Temple (6 February 2013)


Portico of Teong Poh Keong Temple, with the roof supported by dragon pillars (6 February 2013)


Portico of Teong Poh Keong Temple with its dragon pillars and ornate main altar (1 June 2013)


Prayer Hall, Teong Poh Keong Temple (1 June 2013)


The new Teong Poh Keong Temple building has an ornate roof. A pair of dragons grace the sloping roof ridge. The temple has a single-storey shrine hall with the usual three-alcove format, with the principal deity installed in the middle one.

The approach to the portico of Teong Poh Keong Temple is lined on either sides with animals of the Chinese zodiac. There are six on the right and six on the left. The animals on the right are the rat, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon and snake, while on the left, the are the horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog and swine.

Six animals of the zodiac, Teong Poh Keong Temple (1 June 2013)


Another six animals of the zodiac. The old Teong Poh Keong Temple in the background (1 June 2013)


At the compound of the new Teong Poh Keong Temple is an enclosure. In keeping with its name, there are live pythons on one side of the enclosure, while on the other side, live tortoises. The two sides of the enclosure are separated to prevent the pythons from attacking the tortoises.

The Snake and Tortoise Enclosure, Teong Poh Keong Temple (1 June 2013)


One of the python in the enclosure at Teong Poh Keong Temple (1 June 2013)


Tortoises, Teong Poh Keong Temple (1 June 2013)

Teong Poh Keong Temple under construction

These are photos taken when the new Teong Poh Keong Temple was under construction.

Artisan putting the finishing touch to the three-alcove shrine at Teong Poh Keong Temple (6 February 2013)


New incense burner at Teong Poh Keong Temple (6 February 2013)


The new Teong Poh Keong Temple under construction in 2010 (1 August 2010)

Old Teong Poh Keong Temple

This was the old Teong Poh Keong temple, before the new building was erected. The old temple building is located next to the new one.

The old Teong Poh Keong Temple (6 February 2013)

How to go to Teong Poh Keong Temple

The nearest bus stop is along Cecil Street Ghaut. It is served by Rapid Penang bus 303. From there, walk to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, cross the intersection at the traffic lights, turn left, and walk a short distance beside the expressway to arrive at the temple on your right. Total walking distance is about 5-15 minutes.

List of Chinese Temples in Penang and Chinese Temples in Malaysia

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap