Batu Lanchang is a residential neighbourhood within the

downtown core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...

of George Town in the

Malaysian state Malaysia is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories, which form the primary administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territories are part of Peninsular Malaysia, while two states and one territory ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. It is sandwiched between

Farlim Farlim, officially Bandar Baru Ayer Itam, is a residential neighbourhood within the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located southwest of the city centre, the township was created in the 1980s. Over the recent decades, Farl ...

to the west and

Jelutong Jelutong is a suburb of George Town, Penang, George Town in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. Located south of the Central George Town, Penang, city centre, Jelutong has been inhabited since as early as th ...

to the east. Formerly an agricultural area, Batu Lanchang has turned into a suburban residential area, with a mix of high-rises and landed properties. Green Lane, in particular, has become an affluent neighbourhood, whilst also serving as a major thoroughfare through Batu Lanchang, linking the city centre with

Gelugor Gelugor is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Named after a plant species, Gelugor lies along the eastern seaboard of Penang Island, between Jelutong and Sungai Dua, and nearly south of the city centre. Gelugor had bee ...

History

Batu Lanchang was once an agricultural area, where coconut groves stretched all the way to the hills of

Air Itam Ayer Itam is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Nested within the central valleys of Penang Island, it is located approximately southwest of the city centre. Etymology Ayer Itam got its name from the murky waters of th ...

. At the time, Green Lane was the only road through Batu Lanchang; true to its name, it was a country path lined with trees. Urbanisation of the area began in the 1950s, when residential high rises were first built along Green Lane. The development of residential estates around Green Lane, such as Island Park and Island Glades, have transformed it into a wealthy suburban neighbourhood. Development then gradually spilled out across Batu Lanchang, leading to residential high rises like the Central Park condominiums.

Transportation

To this day, Green Lane serves as the main thoroughfare within Batu Lanchang. It forms part of the Penang Middle Ring Road and is heavily used by motorists daily. Other major roads within this suburb include Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim (formerly Batu Lanchang Road) and Batu Lanchang Lane; the former leads towards

while the latter links the suburb with

Rapid Penang Rapid Penang (stylised as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand operating within the George Town Conurbation in Malaysia. Established in 2007 as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it serves as the main public transport system within the sta ...

buses 11, 13, 206 and 304 serve the residents of the suburb, by connecting Batu Lanchang with various destinations such as

and

Paya Terubong Paya Terubong is a suburb of George Town, Penang, George Town in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. Located nearly southwest of the Central George Town, Penang, city centre, it is nestled within the central ...

Education

A total of two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s, seven

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and a

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

are located within Batu Lanchang. Notably, Green Lane is home to two of

's top missionary schools –

Penang Free School Penang Free School (PFS), located at Green Lane, George Town, Green Lane in George Town, Penang, George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest English-medium education, English-medium school in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1816, its academic achiev ...

and Convent Green Lane.

is also the oldest English school in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, with a history dating back to 1816. Aside from

and Convent Green Lane, Batu Lanchang contains two of the more well-known National-type Chinese high schools in

– Chung Hwa Confucian High School and

Heng Ee High School Heng Ee High School ( zh, , s=恒毅国民型华文中学, t=恆毅國民型華文中學, p=, poj=Hêng-gī kok-bîn-hêng huâ-bûn tiong-o̍h; ) is a Chinese conforming national-type Catholic secondary school located in George Town; Penang ...

. Chung Hwa Confucian High School was established in 1904, making it the oldest Chinese school in

. The schools within Batu Lanchang are as follows. Primary schools * SRK Batu Lanchang * SRJK (C) Kheng Tean High schools *

* Convent Green Lane * Chung Hwa Confucian High School *

SMK Hamid Khan Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Hamid Khan is a secondary school (high school) in Island Glades, Jelutong, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. School song Hidup Sambil Belajar Murid-murid dengan hati bersatu penuh semangat membara Mendapat didikan se ...

* SMK Georgetown * SMK Haji Zainul Abidin Vocational school * SMV Batu Lanchang In addition to these schools, the Penang Digital Library is also located within the grounds of

. Launched in 2016, it is the first digital library in Malaysia and contains a digitalised collection of over 3,000 reading materials.

Health care

Lam Wah Ee Hospital Lam Wah Ee Hospital () is a non-profit hospital in George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. The 700-bed tertiary acute care hospital is accredited by the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health. It was established as a provider of tra ...

, one of the several private hospitals on

Penang Island Penang Island is the main constituent island of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located off the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Malacca Strait, with the Penang Strait separating the island from Seberang Perai on the mainla ...

, is located at the junction of Green Lane and Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim. Since its establishment in 1883, the hospital continues to provide traditional Chinese health care to this day, whilst also offering modern treatments as with other private hospitals. Two other private specialised medical centres within Batu Lanchang are the Carl Corrynton Medical Centre and the Optimax Eye Specialist Hospital.

Tourist attractions

* Batu Lanchang Market, where a variety of

Penang cuisine Penang cuisine is the cuisine of the multicultural society of Penang, Malaysia. Most of these cuisine are sold at road-side stalls, known as "hawker food" and colloquially as "muckan carts". Local Penangites typically find these hawker fares ...

can be sampled.

Neighbourhoods

* Green Lane *

Taman Free School Taman Free School is a residential neighbourhood within the downtown core of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is named after the nearby Penang Free School. History Taman Free School mainly consists of low- and medium-cost flats ...

References

{{Greater Penang Conurbation Populated places in Penang George Town, Penang