Street Art in Taiping

This mural is a depiction of Amelia Earhart in her trademark aviator hat and her Lockheed 10-E Electra, landed on a spacious airfield. This airfield is the Tekah Airfield, Malaysia’s first ever airport.

Amelia is reported to have landed here in 1937 to refuel during her ill-fated round-the-world solo flight.

The front shutters of the shops along this street are beautifully decorated with colourful paintings of scenes reflecting local Malaysian culture: mosques, kampung houses, children playing hide and seek, flowers, marine life, and many more. The murals snake along the length of the walls facing the street and round back.

This mural signifies the signing of the Pangkor Treaty in 1874, and was commissioned as part of the 150-year anniversary celebration of the founding of the city of Taiping. The Pangkor Treaty was signed aboard this ship, a British Navy steam gunboat, between the Sultan of Perak, the British Governor, and heads of the Chinese societies in Taiping.

Taiping is home to the first golf course in Malaysia, and is portrayed in this mural which faces the rear portico of the Land and District Building on Jalan Taming Sari.

This golf course was also the grounds for SouthEast Asia’s second-oldest golf club club, the Perak Golf Club, which was associated to St. Andrew;s Golf Club in Scotland, which is the oldest golf club in the world.

The first railroad in Malaysia is commemorated by this mural, located along Jalan Barrack. This painting shows an old steam train. No numberings or other identification markers are on the locomotive to provide clues as to the identity of the train.

This mural portrays the Taiping Wet Market, the first central market complex regulated and administered by a central government in Malaysia. Built in 1884, it is one of the best examples of 19th century wooden architecture in the country. The market is currently undergoing refurbishment, as the last century and a half has taken a major toll on the integrity of the wooden trusses and pillars of the market.

Tin was the reason for Perak’s explosive modernisation in the late 19th century, and created a class of extremely wealthy businessmen and landowners. Tin was also the lifeline to the British government in England, with most of the exploited resources of the Malay States and Malaya at the time transported to Britain to create finished products, providing much needed revenue for an empire wracked by several wars in other colonies, namely China, India, and Africa.

Taiping is a popular destination for foodies, with a rich tapestry of cuisine available  thanks to a diverse population that has culturally integrated over the years. It is not surprising to find a Malay food vendor selling steamed buns (pau), a typically Chinese dish, or roti canai (paratha) which is an Indian dish; a Chinese food vendor selling satay, which is a traditional Malay dish; or an Indian restaurant serving nasi lemak (rice in coconut milk, a Malay dish). View our guides on the best places to eat when you’re in Taiping.

This mural is a graffiti-style pieces of street art in Taiping, located on a wall in a food court near the Lake Gardens. Depicting a very stylized Volkswagen Bus and directions to the food court and food truck locations, this beautiful piece of art has somewhat weathered over the years, and is in need of a touch up.

The Heritage City Mural is one of the largest pieces of street art in Taiping, stretching a length of over 20 metres, painted on the wall of a flyover crossing the railway lines on Jalan Assam Kumbang. The mural shows 10 of Taiping’s oldest and most historical landmarks.