Pekan Cina Alor Setar

Heaven shopping venue for all your personal requirement. Juggle the quoted prices to have a good buy. The shops we went were friendly and they spoke the local malay northern dialect.
Some buildings came with beautiful murals to picture the multi races operating their businesses in that area harmoneously.

Chinese market at alor star selling all Chinese product and food wholesale.u can get many thing here like houseware,stationery,food,weighing and etc. the Chu Char here are old traditional taste and 😋 yummy. U may feel like back to Kampung in 1970an. But I'm from Penang la...hehe. Hope U may follow and enjoy my picture.i will update more tq

A great place to have breakfast; duck porridge, fried kueh teow & mee, roast porks and Chinese cakes/kueh

Lots of street arts. Parking a bit difficult. Very congest area. Come during weekend morning will be better. A lot of wholesale shoppe here.

Nice place with load of upscale cafe. The words ‘Muhibah’, ‘Pekan Cina’ (Chinese Town) and ‘Pekan Melayu’ ‘(Malay Town) are displayed on the arch that is built across Persiaran Sultan Abdul Halim.

The arch, erected by the Kedah Chinese Chamber of Commerce, was to celebrate the solidarity between the Chinese and Malay communities in Alor Setar.

Beyond the arch, Jalan Seberang Perak runs through both towns, with Pekan Cina located on its left and Pekan Melayu on the other side.

Pekan Cina and Pekan Melayu are over 150 years old and were a busy business hub, back in the day.

Today, business is still on as usual with shops lined up on both sides of the street, but is perhaps not as lively as it used to be.

Villages, shops, and houses of worship of different faiths stand side by side, a testament of the diversity of the population there.

The modernisation of Kedah

Many of the shops along the area dated back to the beginning of the 19th century and bore the architectural detail synonymous to that period.

Kedah historian Datuk Dr Wan Shamsudin Mohd Yusof said the towns were opened during the rule of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah, the 24th Sultan of Kedah who reigned from 1854 to 1879.

“He was the pioneer for the modernisation of Kedah. Many Chinese were brought into the state during his rule. He allocated two areas for trade for the Chinese and Malays, which we today know as Pekan Cina and Pekan Melayu,” the 86-year-old told Bernama when met, recently.

Wan Shamsudin, who is also the chairman of the Kedah chapter of the Malaysian Historical Society, said that Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin had also appointed a Chinese leader dubbed ‘kapitan’ to look after the business and welfare of the Chinese community in the state.

The Chinese were also brought in to work at the royal farms where coffee, pepper and cloves were planted.

The farms were in Bukit Pinang, which at the time was the capital city of Kedah before it was changed to Alor Setar in the mid-18th century.

“Kedah produced rice, tin ore, coffee and spices which were exported to the Nusantara region at the time,” he explained.

Wan Shamsudin said that both towns were treasure troves of history and therefore needed to be protected and preserved.

A town for all

The changing times have caused many of the traders to shift their businesses to bigger cities.

However, the businesses that remained in both towns are still attracting a steady stream of customers from among the locals.

Despite the division of the towns by race, many Chinese businesses have today opened up in Pekan Melayu due to the dwindling number of Malay businesses in the area.

Local resident Fariza Ahmad Yasifon, 39, believed that both towns should go by one name – Pekan Muhibbah. She thought it better reflects the peace and harmony of its multiracial population.

Where i bought my anchovies, dried small prawn,salted fish..

Nice place to see beautiful traditional shops. However, parking lots are limited.

Quite a nice place to relax and see sunset

Historic place in Alor Setar. Lots of cafes and traditional shop houses

Must visit place of Alor Setar. The old town. Also visit Caffe Diem for the coffee.

Classis place to hangout. Legendary spot in alor setar

Lovely ambience River front cafe..feel like at Florence and Venice

historical town

Great place to find all households things

You can buy various stuff at a cheaper price

Have many restaurant and shop in here.

A lot of older shop in here..

Authentic

My grown up China town

Good