GEORGE TOWN, Aug. 17 -- Over 224 years ago, when migrants from China's Kwangtung province first arrived in Penang, many sought the help of local associations to find lodging and work.

This led to the establishment of various district- and trade-based guilds to help newcomers settle.

Among them was Loo Pun Hong, a carpenters' guild established in 1801 on Penang Street to support the growing number of carpenters from Kwangtung (also spelt Guangdong today).

The guild became a vital hub where skilled craftsmen took in apprentices, training them in woodworking while providing shelter.

New arrivals from Kwangtung could seek shelter here while picking up a skill, said Loo Pun Hong president Chong Cheok Henn.

"They would undergo apprenticesh...