Descendants Of Dr Wu Lien-Teh Celebrate Qing Meng, Take Heritage Walk of Dr Wu’s Landmarks in Penang

Descendants. L/r: Alex Chong, Gillian Chong, Tai Sow Quin, Anid Chong, Tony Chin and Alison Chong

The descendants of Dr Wu Lien-Teh and General Lam To'Kai Heritage Organisation congregated on Penang for the Qing Ming celebrations on 6th April 2026. The descendants were from Singapore, Australia, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.  They were joined by the YLCO team led by Ignatius Chew and Taoist priest Lee Tai Sung from the Loong Thow Ngam Taoist temple in Ipoh.

The first stop was the Mt.Erskine, Kwangtung & Tengchow Cemetery

at the Kwangtung and Tengchow cemetery ....

(to enlarge click on photo)

..the group walked to the site .....

Located at the top left corner of the cemetery are found three mounds surrounded by 4 pillars with guardian ‘foo dogs keeping watch’ on the graves below

..3 mounds which contain 5 graves and 'guardians' on 4 pillars (click to enlarge photos)

These 3 mounds located next to each other contain 5 graves. The first mound on the right was the remains of Lady Guo Huang Rong the wife of General Lam To’kai.  Beside was the elaborately decorated graves of Lam Looking and his wife Chan Kim Phan Neoh then after was the graves of Dr Wu’s parents Ng Khee Hok and Lam Choy Fan. The other family graves have since been exhumed in 2011. 

Alison Chong began the liturgy as she led the Wu-Lam families to renew their filial pieties to their ancestors. She thanked them for their hopes and prayers saying “for without their sacrifices we would not embrace the spring of life both now and in the future”. She then led the group by giving thanks and bowed three times, 1st to Heaven,  2nd. to our Ancestors and 3rd. in gratefulness for Heaven's Blessings upon us & our descendants.

Alison leads Qing Meng ritual .....

After the prayers Alex led the senior Tai Soh Quin, the representative of the Wu Clan, to place offerings at the graves then followed by the rest.

Alex and Tai Soh Quin who is the representative of Wu clan 

Alison repeated the ritual again at the graves of Lam Looking and his wife Chan Kim Phan Neoh

Alex and Alison at the grave of Lam Looking and Lam Choy Fan

However at the grave of Dr Wu’s parents Priest Lee led the ceremony. The graves had been desecrated by vandalism in Mt Erskine Cemertery in Penang and thus he recited the liturgy for reconciliation & redemption which was said in Mandarin.

Alex and Taoist Priest Lee Heng Sung at the grave of Dr Wu's parents

..it began to drizzle during the ceremony  ......

We were threatened by a sudden shower so we concluded and proceeded to the next schedule to visit the Batu Gantong Columbarium where the remains of Dr Wu and his wife are interred.

..at the shelf of Dr Wu Lien-Teh and Lee Suk Ching .....

At the columbarium Priest Lee recited prayers on a common altar before entering the cubicle housing Dr Wu Lien-Teh and his wife Lee Suk Ching. Alex and Tai Soh Quin together with Abbot Lee were the first to pay respect. Later the group followed.

the descendants pose outside the cubicle of Dr Wu.....

Lunch was held at Baba Phang Nyonya Restaurant at 6 Perak Road. 

Alex Chong explained it was the former home of great grand uncle Lam Looking.  Alex Chong gave thank you ang pows each to Priest Lee and his assistant and Alison Chong for their morning services.

The Nyonya lunch and Alex presents thank you Ang Pau's to priest Lee and Alison ... 

After lunch we followed the  heritage trail of Dr Wu Lien -Teh and pay our respects to Ng Khee Hok, Dr Wu’s father at Ng See Kah Meow or Wu Kongsi, a clan temple of Cantonese people surnamed Ng at 40 King Street in George Town. 

When Dr Wu Dr. Wu came back to Penang he operated a dispensary at 273, Chulia St  (July 1904) but it has since demolished. In its place is now a Hotel Hoong Ping.

In 1904 after returning from Enland he operated a dispensary at 273 Chulia Street now the site of Hotel Hong Ping

The next stop was Dr Wu father’s clan temple called Ng See Kah Meow or Wu Kongsi. Wu is the mandarin translation but Ng is the Cantonese version. During the groups’ visit in March 2025 the curator of the temple offered to place a tablet of Dr Wu similar to the fathers. This year Alison and the family agreed to accept the curators offer and chose a place for the tablet.  

..the Wu / Ng clans ancestral cabinet .......

the family members decide on the placement of Dr Wu's ancestral tablet on the altar ....

The groups continued with the heritage trail passing through  38 Love Lane where Dr Wu lived with his wife and son and 72 Love Lane where he founded the Anti Opium in 1906.

We stopped at the Hu Yew Seah School.  On 25 December 1938, Dr. Wu visited Hu Yew Seah School at Madras Lane and laid a foundation stone. A big mural picture of Dr Wu Lien-Teh and Rabinddranath Tagore is found on the wall of the school, put up in March 2019. 

the large mural of Dr Wu and Rabindranath Tagore..at SJK (C) Hu Yew Seah 

A bronze bust of Dr. Wu Lien-Teh stands on the grounds of Penang Institute At 10 Brown Road. It was donated by the Medical University of Harbin to the people of Penang in 2014.

The descendants pose with the bronze bust of Dr Wu Lien-Teh at Penang Institute  

presented by the Medical University of Harbin ,China

The final stop was at Loong Thow Ngam Cave Temple in Ipoh where we sent the Daoist priest and his assistant. This temple was founded by Lam To’kai and wife Lady Guo Huang Rong in 1854, parents of Lam Looking .

Loong Thow Ngam Cave Temple the official temple of the Wu-Lam-Chong-Lee clan 

Taoist Priest Lee Heng Sun (6th from left in red) and Abbot Lee Sooi Fong (next to him in grey robe) at the Temple  

A most enlightening and educational outing.

 JAG