From Penang’s first ever swimming pool to underground passages reaching the sea and a mysterious well that stored the decapitated heads of their enemies, bizarre stories abound about these estates and their owners.

Hailing from China, Keng Quee made Malaya his home and contributed greatly to the country’s growth when he founded Taiping and established a flourishing mining industry.

These enormous contributions led the British to award Keng Quee and his family with the prestigious title of Kapitan Cina of Malaya.

“My maternal great-grandfather went to school with Chung Thye Pin, the Kapitan who owned The Chinese Palace of Malaya,” sixth generation Nonya Lillian Tong, tells FMT.

“They were in the first class with a total of 25 kids, but in the end only five graduated, including Chung Tye Pin and my great-grandfather Wong Pak Fook.”

With her ancestral past and the title of museum director of the Pinang Peranakan Museum, the 61-year-old unravels a few enticing tales about the Kapitans and their gorgeous estates.

The Chinese Palace of Malaya

The palace was said to have subterranean basements leading directly to the beach and was such a sight that even the British and local residents of the Federated Malay States and Straits Settlement referred to it as the “Chinese Palace”.

While not much is known about the contents of this magnificent estate, Tong learned about some of the details after reading the memoir of a local nyonya named Queeny Chang in “Memories of a Nyonya”.

“In the book a lady led Chang underground through a walkway and they sat having tea,” shares Tong.

“Above her there was a dome-shaped curve and amazingly she could see fishes swimming above,” Tong says.

This however, appears to have been a myth, re-told many times through the generations. In 1964, the entire structure was demolished to make way for The Shanghai Hotel.

Presently, it’s no longer a hotel but the humble abode of numerous citizens who call the apartment complex at No 1 Persiaran Gurney, their home.

Relau Villa

Before it became infamous for its paranormal sightings, Relau Villa was Chung’s private oasis and the site of Penang’s first-ever swimming pool.

The pool was completed in the early 1930s and was said to be inspired by the Kapitan’s worldly travels as he fell in love with Venice’s romantic canals.

“It was surrounded by beautiful pillars, walkways and open rooftops in the midst of a lush jungle,” Tong describes, adding that each stone pillar was meticulously etched with the winding rope design.

“They had to boil water to fill it up so when he took his morning swim, the water would be warm,” Tong exclaims, laughing at the extravagance.

Sadly though, the Kapitan was only able to enjoy his pools’ warm waters for a few years as he took his last breath on April 7, 1935 and ended the era of the Kapitan Cina in Malaya.

The Pinang Peranakan Mansion

The awe-inspiring east-meets-west architecture of the Pinang Peranakan Mansion stands as one of the most magnificent buildings in Penang today.

Before it became a Peranakan household, it was home to Kapitan Chung Keng Quee. Before his death, Keng Quee constructed a temple in the mansion for himself which is still in use today.

Perhaps you’ve toured the museum yourself and even paid your respects at his shrine, but Tong reveals a lesser known and rather dark tale about the temple’s past.

“There’s this well in the temple that’s really infamous,” Tong says in a hushed voice, where the heads of soldiers beheaded during the Penang Riots of 1876, were dumped.

“I even read in the counsellors’ report that they always saw headless bodies bopping around in the sea,” Tong states, explaining that Beach Street was once a sparkling beach before it became tar and reclaimed land.

Today, the door to the well remains locked but on one rare occasion, Tong was able to peek into its very depths.

“One day the caretaker left the door open and I ran all the way to take a look inside the well,” she reveals.

“Although it is so inland now, I could still see sea sand at the bottom of the well.”

While Tong is unsure if headless bodies really did sink to the bottom of that well, she’s sure that Pinang Peranakan’s Mansion will live on for centuries just like the stories and legacies of the many Kapitan Cina of Malaya.