The Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi is the grandest of Georgetown's clan kongsi — the temples and meeting halls built by Hokkien immigrants from Fujian to maintain family ties, settle disputes and worship ancestors. It sits at the centre of Cannon Square, a walled enclave of shophouses, a clan theatre and the family cemetery, all built by the Khoo family from the 1850s onward.
The main hall is an explosion of Chinese craftsmanship: a black-and-gold ceiling carved into a thousand interlocking pieces with no nails, granite columns wrapped in gilded dragons, hand-painted door gods three metres tall, and a roof crowded with Cantonese figurines depicting episodes from history and legend. The walls are studded with stone plaques listing centuries of Khoo descendants — including Khoo Hean Kang, who became China's first Western-trained admiral. Adjoining the hall is a small museum of Khoo family memorabilia and a Chinese opera stage still used for traditional performances. Allow an hour. Photography permitted; modest dress expected.