All activities

Chinatownwith Travelogue Guesthouse, Kuala Lumpur

Eleven in the morning, on foot, through the loudest and most photographed few streets in the city. Lanterns, murals, two temples and lunch.

Day: The board has it
Time: 11:00 AM
Meet: The common area
Cost: Free to join

Start to finish

How the day goes

Roughly. It is a group of travellers, not a coach tour, so the end of it moves.

11:00 AM: Meet in the common area at Travelogue Guesthouse.
Late morning: Kwai Chai Hong, the murals and Petaling Street.
On the way: The temples, which are a few streets apart.
Lunch: At a local place, with the group.

On the day

What happens

Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown is a few streets of market, murals and temples that have been there considerably longer than the towers have. It is a walking morning rather than a sightseeing stop, and it ends the way most things at this hostel end, with everybody at one table.

The streets of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, on foot and at the pace of whoever is slowest.
Street art, including the murals and red lanterns at Kwai Chai Hong.
The temples, a Hindu one and a Chinese one a few streets apart, both still in daily use.
Group lunch at a local place at the end of it.

What it costs

Free to join. Food is about 10 to 25 RM and transport about 5 to 10 RM, both at your own expense.

Getting there

About 15 minutes each way by car.

Looking down Petaling Street from under the arch, Kuala Lumpur Chinatown

The place itself

Five stops in a few streets

The walk takes in some of these. The rest are close enough to find afterwards if you want them.

Petaling Street

The covered market street under the green gates, and the reason most people come to Chinatown at all. Copies of everything down the middle, food stalls at both ends, and it does not go quiet until late.

Central Market

A wet market in 1888, rebuilt in art deco in 1937, and a listed heritage building now. What it sells today is batik, crafts and paintings rather than groceries, and it is air conditioned, which by midday is the point.

Kasturi Walk

The covered pedestrian street down one side of Central Market, lined with stalls in matching little caravans. Fried bananas, nasi lemak, curry, and coffee poured over condensed milk.

Guan Di Temple

A Taoist temple from 1888 with a red front and gold dragons over the door. Inside is a copper guan dao of about 59 kilos that people touch three times, because touching it is supposed to change your luck.

Chan See Shu Yuen

At the far end of Jalan Petaling, and not a public temple: it is the Chan clan’s ancestral hall, built between 1899 and 1906 by craftsmen brought from Guangdong. The roof is what people photograph, a ridge of ceramic figures acting out Chinese opera.

The group

The morning, as it happened

Guests of the hostel in Chinatown, photographed by the people on the walk.

Travelogue Guesthouse guests on the balcony at Kwai Chai Hong, red fabric swagged along the balustrade and the lane's shophouse murals on the wall behind them

The gopuram of Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur Chinatown

Travelogue Guesthouse guests inside a Chinese temple on the Chinatown walking tour, Kuala Lumpur

Travelogue Guesthouse guests on the steps at Kwai Chai Hong in Kuala Lumpur Chinatown

A canopy of white parasols over the red footbridge at Kwai Chai Hong, Kuala Lumpur Chinatown

A shophouse wall painted as an old warung front in a Kuala Lumpur Chinatown back lane

Travelogue Guesthouse guests on the red footbridge under the lanterns at Kwai Chai Hong

A painted wall and racks of drying bowls in a Kuala Lumpur Chinatown back lane

Take with you

Before you go

Shoes you can walk inCash, 10 to 25 RM for lunchSomething for the sun

FAQ

Questions about this one

Asked at reception often enough to be worth writing down.

Still have a question?

Message us and somebody at reception will answer it.

Ask on WhatsApp

What time does the Chinatown tour meet?

11:00 AM in the common area at Travelogue Guesthouse in Bukit Bintang. The day rotates, so check the board beside reception.

What does the Chinatown walking tour cover?

The streets of Kuala Lumpur Chinatown, the street art, the temples, and lunch together at a local place. It is a walking tour, so wear shoes you can walk in.

What does the Chinatown tour cost?

Joining is free. Food is about 10 to 25 RM and transport about 5 to 10 RM, both at your own expense.

How much walking is the Chinatown tour?

It is a walking tour and the stops are a few streets apart, so wear shoes you can spend a morning in. There is a sit-down lunch at the end of it.

While you are here