Babas and Nyonya are Chinese of noble descendants that have adopted much of the Malay culture into theirs. They are also known as ‘Straits-born Chinese’ or ‘Peranakans’. Visitor to Melaka now can view their heritage at the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum (a private museum) run by the Babas and Nyonyas of Melaka.
The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum located at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, or better known as the Millionaire’s Row, this heritage was a residence built during the Dutch occupancy and bought by the Peranakans in Melaka. The design of these houses clearly shows the mixture of culture between the east and the west.
The house was built in 1896, the Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum presents the way of life of the Peranakans in Melaka at the end of the 19th century.
Visitors can see the beauty and uniqueness of the Baba-Nyonya traditional costume, antique furnitures and wood-work art. The western influence can also be seen clearly from the antique furnitures made in Italy, Britain and Dutch. Western influence did not end here as there are many more items in this museum, from Victorian-era chandelier to floor tiles, all has its own story to tell.
The Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum is located at No 48 and 50.
The Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum
No 48 & 50, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock
75000 Melaka
Tel: +606 283 1273
Operating Hours
10.00 AM – 12.30 PM
2.00 PM – 4.30 PM
Daily
Entrance Fee
RM8.00
NOTES: The museum assistant will give briefing during your visit and visitors are not allowed to take photos inside the museum.
The house is lovely, but the tour guide on my visit with my parents was rude and clearly did not welcome questions. I was treated quite rudely after asking her a question about the Victorian artefacts. Either she did not know the answer or she could not be bothered answering – I don’t know. She rushed through the tour like she couldn’t be bothered doing it in the first place, and when we left, could be seen laughing and chatting with her friends in a room off the entrance hall.