Meet the guardians of Penang’s precious heritage

The 211-year-old Thai Pak Koong Temple in King Street recently won the 2021 Unesco Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. — Photos: LEESAN

Penangites always take pride in their identity wherever they are in this world. I am actually envious of this, though I don’t really have a clue why they love their hometown so much.

Whenever two strangers start talking in their familiar Penang Hokkien outside of the island, the atmosphere will instantly change – it’s as if they have known each other for years! And as if that’s not enough, even some non-Chinese Penangites can speak or at least understand local Hokkien.