Your decision to visit Melaka can never turn out be the wrong one as there are several tourist attractions in Melaka. The city has a rich history with several historical building, architecture, heritage sites, and museums. Cheng Ho Cultural Museum is one of the prestigious places to visit in Melaka. All the artifacts in the museum are ancient and take you hundreds of years back.
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
The Museum occupies various shop houses nearby the river in the city. History devotees and enthusiasts visit this fascinating place, fathoming the amazing career of a Chinese admiral Cheng Ho. Cheng Ho (Zheng He) was the Ming dynasty admiral who has a prominent place in Melaka history. It is said that the admiral visited this city-state for at least five of his seven visits to the Western Ocean from China from 1405 to 1433. He setup his own depot, warehouse in this area. The museum is assumed to be built on the original Guan Chang site built by Cheng Ho around 600 years ago. It is also said that the warehouse built by Cheng Ho was also located in the same area.
The museum stretches over three floors which can roughly be divided into various sections such as ship gallery, old Melaka village, treasure ship, antique gallery and garden courtyard. Various old shop houses that date back to the time of Cheng Ho are restored and linked together to establish this archetype museum. It covers a huge place that depicts Cheng Ho’s life and voyages.
The museum has mock-ups of his treasure ships, a life-sized statue of a giraffe that was supposedly bought by him from china. The teas hops and treasure ship living cabins will carry you the past while offering a glimpse of Cheng Ho’s routine. All these ancient objects display his birth into a Muslim family, his career as a eunuch in the palace and counselor to the Ming emperor. The social influence of his voyages in more than 200 treasure ships with more than 28,000 men can be sensed till today. The gallery also exhibits his death during his journey to the Persian Gulf.
Visiting Cheng Ho museum is indeed one of the amusing things to do in Melaka. The museum is strategically located at Jalan Hang Jebat and is also close to the Tan Kim Seng Bridge, making it easily accessible from wherever you are staying in Melaka. It is open daily from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm and the admission charges are RM 10.00 (2.33 USD).
The Cheng Ho Cultural Museum is a must-visit museum in Melaka, especially if you’re interested in a history. If you have visited the museum and would like to share your thoughts, please add comments below.