Travelogue around Asia Pacific Part II: Medan

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Medan - Tjong A Fie mansion

Medan - After a well-deserved rest, we checked out at 3 PM and began our journey to Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. The contrast between the cool, green landscapes of Berastagi and the bustling urban heat of Medan was striking. As soon as we arrived, we were met with the city’s scorching heat and infamous traffic jams.

We stopped at a durian store and had 3 durians - Rp 70,000 for the big size durian and 2 smaller durians at Rp 30,000 each.

Exploring the Historic Tjong A Fie Mansion

After checking into our hotel and quickly unpacking, we set off to visit one of Medan’s most famous landmarks: the Tjong A Fie Mansion. This two-story grand mansion, once owned by Tjong A Fie, a wealthy Chinese businessman and former mayor of Medan, is a well-preserved symbol of Medan’s rich multicultural heritage. Built in 1895, this mansion is now a museum and cultural heritage site. Entrance fee: Rp 35000 (S$ 3)

Walking through the mansion felt like stepping back in time. The colonial and Chinese architectural fusion, intricate wooden carvings, and elegant furnishings reflected the wealth and influence of Tjong A Fie. The guided tour provided valuable insights into his contributions to Medan’s development, and the stories behind the artifacts made the experience all the more enriching.

When Tjong Nyie Mie was a little girl, she and her younger brother would play hide and seek in their palatial family mansion on the main drag in Medan – a cosmopolitan entrepot during Indonesia’s Dutch colonial era dubbed the “Paris of Sumatra”.

Nowadays, Tjong Nyie Mie (also known as Mimi Tjong) is the affable hostess of Tjong A Fie Mansion, which was opened to the public as a tourist attraction in 2009 and is named after her grandfather.

The original hand-painted ceilings, Tjong’s huge bedroom, imported dark-wood furniture inlaid with marble and mother-of-pearl, interesting art pieces, an upstairs ballroom and Taoist temples all help to make it one of the most impressive historic buildings in town.

The Mansion has Chinese, Malay and Art Deco influences in its architecture style. The structure was built observing feng-shui principles. The rooms are on four sides of the structures and surround a big open-air courtyard in the middle, signifying the "Well of Heaven".