Burn joss at Cheng Hoon Teng, Malaysia's oldest working Chinese temple
Founded 1645, in use ever since
A working temple at 25 Jalan Tokong, founded in 1645, with Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian altars under a single roof. Free to enter, donations expected, open daily from roughly 7am to 7pm.
Why it's unique
Cheng Hoon Teng was founded in 1645 and has been in continuous use since, which makes it the oldest functioning traditional Chinese temple in Malaysia. Its restoration in the 2000s won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific award for architectural conservation.
It is also a Three Doctrines temple, with Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian altars under one roof. That is the older Chinese pattern, and most modern temples have split it apart into separate institutions, so worshipping across all three in one hall is something you can do here and increasingly cannot elsewhere.
Before you go
The carved and lacquered roof ridge was assembled by craftsmen brought in specially, with the materials shipped in with them, and it is the thing to look up at rather than the altars.
The temple still owns property along the street, including No. 8 Heeren Street, which is why the block survived at all. Early morning gets you actual worshippers rather than tour groups.