The Compass G.
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Stepped into the Tjong A Fie Mansion in Medan, and it’s like stumbling into the haunted cousin of Penang’s Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion, which I visited just months ago. Both are time capsules of Chinese tycoon swagger, built by Hakka merchants who hustled from rags to riches.
Built in 1895 and finished in 1900 by Tjong A Fie, a Hakka merchant who clawed his way from Guangdong poverty to become Medan’s plantation kingpin, this 8,000 sqm, 35-room, 2-story beast screams ambition. The architecture’s a wild mashup- Chinese feng shui vibes with Malay flair and Art Deco swagger, plus Italian hand-painted tiles and gilded wood panels that ooze opulence. It’s a museum now, open since 2009 to mark Tjong’s 150th birthday, and still partly lived in by his descendants, which adds a creepy, lived-in ghost story vibe.
Tjong, who died in 1921 at 61 from a brain hemorrhage, was no ordinary fat cat. He bankrolled a third of Medan’s grand Al Mashun Mosque, built bridges, schools, and hospitals, and even founded Bank Kesawan in 1913. His plantation empire - palm oil, sugar, tobacco made him Sumatra’s first Chinese millionaire, and his title as ‘Majoor der Chineezen’ (Chinese Major) in 1911 cemented his clout with the Dutch, Deli Sultanate, and locals. The mansion’s courtyard, a serene “Well of Heaven,” feels like a brief escape from the chaos, but don’t be fooled - rumors has it some whisper of supernatural chills in certain rooms at night.
Entry’s a measly IDR 35,000 (~$2.30), including a guide who’ll spill family secrets, but the heat inside’s brutal. It’s a haunting peek into Medan’s past.
