By the mid-19th century, George Town, the capital city of Penang, was home to a significant Peranakan community, also known as the King's Chinese due to their loyalty to the British crown.

Renowned figures, including Jimmy Choo and Nicol David, hailed from Penang and have contributed greatly in raising the country's profile internationally.

[9][10] After the British East India Company under Captain Francis Light founded George Town in 1786, ethnic Chinese began to move to Penang in increasing numbers.

[11] This, coupled with the greater number of newer immigrants from China throughout the 19th century, effectively made the Chinese the largest ethnic group in Penang by the 1850s.

[12] As Penang grew into a major entrepôt towards the end of the 19th century, the influx of various cultures and religions would create a melting pot where the multi-ethnic and multi-religious society could exist in harmony.

Similarly, over time, the newer Chinese arrivals became acculturated to the existing local culture and customs due to intermarriages between the Peranakans and the "Sinkeh".

During World War II, ethnic Chinese in Penang suffered brutal and often violent treatment in the hands of the occupying Imperial Japanese Army.

Hundreds of ethnic Chinese as well as 3,500 other non-Chinese POWs were massacred and buried in unmarked mass graves throughout Penang during the Japanese occupation period.

[19][20][21] More recently, Penang Hokkien has also been popularised in mass media, particularly through books, dictionaries and movies, due in part to the desire to maintain the language's relevance in the face of increasing influence of Mandarin and English amongst the younger generations.

The Cantonese and Hakka communities, in particular, would go on to predominate parts of George Town towards the end of the 19th century, while a significant number of Teochews were also employed in the agricultural industries within the then Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai).

[18] To this day, many of the Teochews continue to reside in the towns of Seberang Perai, such as Bukit Mertajam, Sungai Bakap and Nibong Tebal.

Penang is famous for its variants of Chinese dishes, including char kuey teow, Hokkien mee and chee cheong fun.

Since the 1950s, an annual Chingay parade has been held within the city of George Town every December, in a bid to retain this unique cultural practice.