My heritage tourism legacy is still very much alive. Ten years ago on this very date, a wayfinding system(*) covering ten heritage tourism sites in George Town was launched. Although I was fully involved in this Think City project as researcher and author, which included me penning the short narratives for the wall plaques, I can't remember why I wasn't present for the launch, though. Looking back into my own archives, I'm surprised that I had not even written anything about the launch on this blog!
But it was a good thing that my old schoolmate, Lim Siang Jin, with whom I had worked closely together on this project did get an invitation. One of us had to be there! A lot has happened in George Town since then and I am still glad that our work is still visible in the city today. Before I go on to the pictures which I discovered today on facebook, here are links to some of my earlier blog stories regarding this Street of Harmony project:
On 16 October 2011, I wrote: "I came home yesterday thoroughly spent, having endured more than five hours under the blazing sun with my old classmate, Siang Jin. We were walking up and down the so-called Street of Harmony in the core heritage zone of George Town. He was taking photographs of the heritage sites while I was telling him where to aim his camera. You see, I am mighty glad that my collaborative work with him is now almost at any end. It was an assignment that began in December last year, which means that almost 10 months have been spent on it. Ten months, 10 long months." Click here to read more about Four heritage sites in George Town.
On 30 November 2020, I wrote: "These 10 information wall plaques were originally devised by my good friend, Lim Siang Jin, and I in 2011. During that year, we had approached Think City and had obtained some funds to carry out a project along Pitt Street and Cannon Street. Together, they are known as the Street of Harmony because of the close proximity of so many houses of worship belonging to the four main communities along this stretch of road in Penang. I spent the better part of one year visiting these institutions and talking to their representatives in order to learn more about their history. My essays were even scrutinised by the Penang Heritage Trust to ensure that my facts were correct." Click here to read more about Penang's Street of Harmony.
On 2 December 2020, I wrote: "Two days ago, I had written about the digital brochures and wall plaques which my friend, Siang Jin, and I had prepared for the George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI). I had also mentioned that we had direction signages made for display at strategic points along the Street of Harmony. These have certainly outlasted the brochures because until today, they can still be seen along Cannon Street, Pitt Street and Farquhar Street while the digital brochures have long disappeared from the GTWHI website." Click here to read more about the Direction Signages.
On 4 December 2020, I wrote: "Today, I shall put on display the covers of the 10 digital brochures of the Street of Harmony which my friend, Siang Jin, and I had produced for the George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) in 2011. A lot of effort was put into the research, writing and subsequent editing and layout. While these brochures were then put up by GTWHI on their website for visitors to download, they were removed after a few months. No reason was ever given for the removal but we could sense some hidden tension. I shall leave it to people to conclude whether that decision to remove the brochures was justified." Click here to see the covers of The Street of Harmony digital brochures.
Note: (*) A wayfinding system is simply a system that assists the user to find his way around a place. It can be either a manual system or an electronic one. In this instance, we employed a manual system where directional signages and plaques were attached to lamp posts and walls to show tourists around the Street of Harmony and provide them with some basic historical information.
 |
| Directional road signage at the junction of Cannon Street and Acheen Street |
 |
| Information plaque on the fence of Kapitan Keling Mosque in Pitt Street |
 |
| Directional road sign along Pitt Street |
 |
| Information plaque on the gate of Yap Temple |
 |
| Directional road signages and map along Pitt Street |
 |
| Information plaque outside Acheen Street Malay Mosque |
 |
| Information plaque at the entrance to Khoo Kongsi at Cannon Street |
No comments:
Post a Comment