George Town City (George Town)

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The city of George Town is bounded by the city's original boundaries, which came into effect upon the conferment of George Town's city status in 1957 and lasted until the enlargement of George Town's jurisdiction in 2015. The city centre forms the administrative and financial heart of the Malaysian state of Penang.

The offices of the Penang government, including that of the Penang Chief Minister, is sited within KOMTAR (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak), the tallest skyscraper within the state. Downtown George Town is also home to two bustling Central Business Districts (CBDs) - Beach Street and Northam Road - where international financial institutions and multinational companies (MNCs) are based. Apart from the skyscrapers and banks at both CBDs, Global Business Services (GBS) and co-working offices are also concentrated within the city centre, as are shopping malls, hotels, hospitals and creative start-ups that sustain a booming tertiary economy.

In 2008, a large portion of the city centre, specifically 259 hectares of the northeastern core, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Aside from the Beach Street CBD, the UNESCO zone includes Swettenham Pier, the busiest port-of-call for cruise shipping in Malaysia. Several notable historical buildings, such as the City Hall, Fort Cornwallis, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Kapitan Keling Mosque and the Clan Jetties, are sited amongst rows of Chinese and Indian shophouses. The UNESCO zone covers some of the oldest streets in Penang, including Pitt Street, also known as the Street of Harmony for the various places of worship that share the road.

Cultural diversity is also relatively more pronounced within the city centre. Apart from the local Chinese, Malay and Indian communities, downtown George Town contains residents of Peranakan, Eurasian and Siamese ethnicities as well. In addition, the city centre is among the most favoured areas by expatriates within the city of George Town. In any given year, this cultural diversity can be observed through the myriad of festivals that are held within the city centre.

The influx of foreign investors into the city centre has also pushed up property prices within this area and consequently, property prices within downtown George Town are the most expensive in all of Penang.