These photos were taken along Panglima Lane in Ipoh on December 18th 2010 during our Ipoh Heritage Trail. Panglima Lane was among some of the more than 20 tourist destinations that Mr. Raja, our tour guide took us to. It was situated in the old town of Ipoh, near those old coffee shops that sells the famous Ipoh white coffee.
Panglima Lane was also known as Concubine Lane. In the days of old, rich tin mining owners used to have several concubines. They kept these women in houses along these narrow lanes. There are actually two lanes – Second Concubine Lane and Third Concubine Lane that runs parallel to each other.
Today, many of the houses along these two lanes are abandoned. Some were in very bad state of neglect. A few even collapsed partially and were finally torn down. Sadly, the state government did not do much to preserve them, perhaps due to their Sino flavor. Panglima Lane is dying a slow death.
That morning, some tourists from Britain and Singapore joined us in the heritage trail. One of them was Mrs Heather Lang, a friendly lady from UK. Her husband works in Ipoh and she was interested to learn more about the city. She was joined by a few friends. The elderly Chinese man steering the three-wheeled vehicle was Mr Chow. He was born in one of the houses along this lane, grew up here and had not leave this place his entire life! Being elderly and with a limping leg, he make a living ferrying goods for people around this area. He smiled and bade us goodbye as we made our way out from this narrow lane.
Oh yes, another thing, I’m sure many of you knew and had tried the famous satay from Kong Heng Coffee Shop, located a few meters from Panglima Lane. Well, the delicious marinated meats, barbeque to perfection, were prepared in one of the houses along Panglima Lane. We were taken there to have a look at how satay were made. Not a nice sight though!
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188 Hugh Low Street, Ipoh 
Nostalgic! Your blog on Ipoh’s Heritage Trail: Panglima Lane reminds me of the Haji Lane in Singapore.
To prevent this loss, conservation plans are carried out to preserve the identities of these racial societies. Currently, a conservation plan is applied to Arab Streets to exclude this area from urban renewal and hopefully safeguard its identity.
Today, young people frequent the shophouses along this lane for the independent fashion boutiques and Middle Eastern cafes.
Thank you for memories of Panglima Lane to visualise the heritage of Ipoh for the future.
Hi James,
I’m sure you’ll be delighted to see Panglima Lane! Heritage buffs like us’ll go gaga over stuffs like this 🙂
I’ll make it a point to go over to Haji Lane if I go to Singapore one day – perhaps you can be my tour guide!
Sadly, Malaysia lagged behind Singapore in terms of heritage preservation, simply because our authorities has very different mentalities compared with yours 😦
What beautiful buildings. How sad to let them go. Idiots.
In contrast, I notice there are blooming plants with the houses – like the smiling faces.
Hi Sheila,
Panglima Lane oozed charm and nostalgia. Standing along this narrow lane, you can get carried away into another world, another time. 🙂
I wish something could be done to preserve this lane instead of letting it rot away just like that – turning the abandoned houses into inns, cafes, museums, antique shops.
You’re right – those pretty plants were aplenty and they added life to this otherwise lifeless place. 🙂
i love this lane and all the shops in old town. i wish more is being done to preserve them 🙂
Hi Barb,
Yes, I think this lane, together with those colonial buildings surrounding the Ipoh Padang, was the most beautiful place in Ipoh. 🙂
Thank you for featuring Panglima Lane or the romantic alternative, Concubine Lane. I first came across it in the paintings of some Malaysian artists and promised myself that I must see it one day. And it has to be soon if there are no heritage conservation or preservation plans for these sad old houses.
Another valid reason to revisit Ipoh!
Best wishes all
Hock Yew
(Singapore)
Hi Hock Yew,
Yes, make a visit to Ipoh quick before all the houses in these two narrow lanes will be gone. Already a few were demolished recently. 😦
The tour guide told us these houses used to be gambling parlors, opium dens and living quarters of mistresses of rich mining bosses, in the days when tin was king in Ipoh.
One wonders how their big automobiles navigated these narrow lanes! But it sure helped the wives – they knew where to flush out their husbands when they were up to no good!
Where else but Concubine Lane! 🙂 LOL 🙂
Let’s also not forget the famous Restaurant Koh Kee located on Panglima Lane. The shop is famous for its steamed tilapia (cheong cheng fish) with its unique sauce.In its hey days it was a popular lunch stop for tourists passing by Ipoh.Being reasonably priced, it was also very popular with the office crowd, one can always see queues in front of the shop waiting for a table.
Hi Mary,
Welcome to my blog! Ah, yes, not to forget, the famous eating shop that you have mentioned – it’s steamed fish and fried vegetables are something to die for although the waiting crowd can somewhat kill our appetite. 🙂
For some quick bites, one can always hop over to Kong Heng and Thean Chun for their delicious street food but lately, their standard had dropped. 😦
Been there this year to see Jalan Panglima, etc with my family. Saw a T.V. food program in malaysia showcasing hawker style food in Malaysia.
I have grown up in Ipoh but only now know about this place!
Apparently, a T.V. series had a scene made around these old buildings hence the nicely renovated door of one of the buildings.
chooi
Hi chooi,
Welcome to my blog too! It’s never too late to learn about the beauty and old world charm of Panglima Lane 🙂 I hope more could be done to highlight this place 🙂
If anyone is here, they will be transported to old Shanghai for awhile. That’s how I feel every time when I stroll down to Panglima Lane.
Hi Sundra,
Old Shanghai? Why didn’t I think of this before? Now that you had mentioned it, that’s how I feel too! 🙂
I was back in Ipoh in December 2011 and had lunch with my sister and mom at Khong Heng. I then walked over to Concubine lane and was shocked to see it in ruins. My mom said when I come back in the next 2 – 4 years, it probably be nothing but parking lot! It is a sad state because my late dad would take us for lunch at that restaurant when our relatives came to visit eons ago ,and we would walk down the lane and admire the house there. We kids will try to look inside the houses through the windows.
Hi Dawn,
I’m afraid your mom might be right – some heritage buildings in Ipoh were demolished and turned into parking lots, especially in the old town area, to cater to food tourists, pathetic, right? 😦