We've tried to ensure the information displayed here is as accurate as possible. Should there be any inaccuracies, we would be grateful if you could let us know at info@ipohworld.org . All images and content are copyright.
(Please click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.)
Oriental Hotel (aka Tong Ah Hotel)
Also known as the Tong Ah Hotel, this 3-storey premier Chinese hotel was a famous romantic rendezvous point. The ideograms on the building parapet advertise the “Tong Ah Hotel Roof Garden” with a romantic couplet “Flowers and birds are appealing. Wind and moon have no boundaries”.
Apart from a romantic rendezvous, the hotel was also said to be a secret hideout of the Kuomintang-Force 136 operatives during Japanese occupation. For sure,the hotel was raided by the Japanese on 26th March 1944 and Tan Chong Tee of Force 136 was arrested by their military police there. It is said that this led to the destruction of the Force 136 secret operations in Ipoh and Lim Bo Seng @ Tan Choon Lim was arrested the next day.
The Tong Ah Hotel opened for business in 1919 and was said to be "the grandest hotel in British Malaya outside Singapore and Penang". In the 1930's and 1940's. It was said to be a favorite rest and recreation center for rich and powerful men or women from China, including many top-ranking Kuomintang leaders. We believe it closed down in the early 1980's and after laying empty for some time became an electrical store.
To read more about Force 136 and Lim Bo Seng, click here.