Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion listed as one of the world top ten greatest mansions and grand houses by popular tour guide, Lonely Planet

This appears to be quite surprising to me, and even to my friends too. The famous Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion at Georgetown, Penang is one of the world top ten greatest mansions and grand houses listed by a popular tour guide called Lonely Planet. Such ranking is definitely very subjective as everyone has their different perception towards the ‘greatness’ of a certain mansion. Even until now, I’m still wondering how the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion could even get to the list?! This is weird. No doubt it is a beautiful heritage structure, but…uum…

I have been to Penang many times and I had visited the mansion which is popularly known as Blue Mansion due to the result of mixing lime with natural blue dye made from the indigo plant. It is built in traditional Chinese architecture with mixture of vernacular adaptation and British influential styles (Art Nouveau and Gothic). It is built by a rich Chinese merchant, Cheong Fatt Tze at the end of 19th century which has 38 rooms, 5 courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 timber louvre windows. It is now a private residence used for partly hotel and partly museum dedicated for tourism, while still maintaining almost all of its original essence.

The mansion is no doubt a symbolic historical structure for Penang and for the whole Malaysia, but I still can’t believe it could be listed in top ten of the world. There is even no need to compare this mansion with many other much better mansions around the world in many aspects. For me, yes…Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is rich in heritage value expressed in architecture and culture, but if compared to many others around the world, the mansion is way far behind for the competition. I guess that it can be listed in top ten due to the person who created the ranking have had a good time visiting the mansion.

Anyway, it’s still a good news for Malaysians as one of our structures get well known around the world after the ranking is published out. The only other Asian mansion that made to the list is the Kolkata Palace in India. The other mansions listed are  Villa d’Este in Italy, England’s Castle Howard, Chateau de Chambord in France, Catherine Palace in Russia, Fallingwater in the woods of Pennsylvania, Beauport House in Massachusetts, Werribee Mansion in Melbourne and Powerscourt Estate in the Wicklow Mountains. Out of all the 10 mansions listed, I only have known the Fallingwater designed by famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright besides than the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. Fallingwater truly deserved the ranking due to its strength in combining architecture with its natural surrounding to form a picturesque space of living. It is an iconic symbol of house for the Americans.

Only one Chinese-styled mansion is listed and that is not located in China, but in Malaysia, which is the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. I guess it is very hard to find thousand of great mansions there in China and pick one, so the one who created the ranking just pick the famous one in other countries with Chinese people, and so Cheong Fatt Tze came to the top. The mansion is no more than an ordinary double-storey Chinese courtyard house, with just an addition of its distinctive blue colour facade.

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