Nanyang heritage and Petaling Street: One builder’s journey to connect with the past through LEGO [Feature]

As a child growing up in a small town, LEGO made my world so much bigger. I could imagine life in space, the Middle Ages, or big cities because the act of building with bricks made history, science, and far-off places real. But it wasn’t until years later, thanks to communities like Brickshelf and sites like this one, that I came to understand how universal my experience was. One of my great joys in writing for this site has been the chance to learn from and be inspired by creations shared by talented builders around the world.

Builders like Vooi Loon Low, a Chinese Malaysian AFOL living in Kuala Lumpur.

A few years ago, Loon started sharing LEGO models of shops on Petaling Street, the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s historic Chinatown. Specifically, he’s been recreating the shops as they would have appeared in the 1950s. These buildings, sometimes paired with black and white photos, are the only LEGO models Loon has shared. I wanted to know more about Loon’s motivations for this very specific and long-running project. When I reached out, Loon was kind enough to share his story. 

“You could say I was inspired by my Grandmother-in-law. When I was a child, my Grandmother-in-law would go to Petaling Street to buy supplies for all of the festivals. Traveling to the city was expensive so she could only afford to make the trip once or twice a year to buy things,” Loon explains.

“I still remember very clearly that there used to be a dark brown leather suitcase under the bed in my Grandmother-in-law’s room. Inside were the personal belongings that the Great Grandmother brought with her when she came to Nanyang from China.”

Nanyang means Southern Sea in Chinese, referring to what is often called Southeast Asia, including the countries of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is also an identity held by many of the Chinese diaspora, like the Chinese Malaysian people who make up roughly 21% of Malaysia’s population. Loon calls his project the “Nanyang Footprint.”

While Petaling Street remains a culturally important district and tourist destination, Loon felt the version he heard about from his Grandmother slipping away. 

“Life in the city is getting faster and faster. Every time I pass the same block, there are some small changes. Sometimes old buildings are renovated or demolished, sometimes the store rent is too high and the tenant decides to close the business, sometimes tenants decide to retire when they are older and there there are no young people willing to take over the business,” Loon explains. “More and more, everyone just works hard for a busy life, and people see their neighbors as strangers. Every time I mention it to my friends, there is always a feeling of resignation. Then slowly I felt that this was a familiar but strange city.”

There’s a sadness as Loon describes seeing the past slip away. But what Loon did next was truly inspiring. He decided to tap into his love for LEGO and build the city of his Grandmother’s generation before it slipped away from living memory. “It would help me understand my city better, become more familiar with the people and things behind it, and become good friends with the locals.”

But before he could build, he needed to better understand his subject.

“I started visiting the old residents of Petaling Street in 2017 (to learn about the city as Grandmother would have known it). I enjoyed searching for information very much because everyone I talked to had stories about everything around them, and if they weren’t sure or did not understand, they would immediately ask other neighbors to help fill in the gaps.”

As the community learned about his project, they came together to support his curiosity.

“For example, there was Brother Weng who sold steamed buns in the alley. He used to live at No. 46 Petaling Street. He drew the floor plan of the upstairs and downstairs where he lived, letting me know that the downstairs was a grocery store and that there were seventeen rooms upstairs. He also very enthusiastically asked everyone he knew to help me think of the name of each old store to help me complete the work.”

In fact, there were so many special moments. Like on Sultan Street next to Petaling Street, there is a 110-year-old tailor shop – Kwong Fook Wing. When the current owner, Uncle Kwong, found out that I was using LEGO to represent the old building, he was very surprised and very happy. He let me visit where he worked and showed me the whole building,” Loon explains. “This building is not open to the public and is only accessible to a limited number of members. He also made a book about his history, printed it, and gave me a copy!”

“I spent nearly two years collecting information about old businesses and shop names. Once I felt the information was sufficient and correct, I began building in 2019.”

Loon started building with LEGO at a young age. He kept with the hobby into his college years, went through a “dark age,” then rekindled that love for LEGO as an adult. Now 48 years old, Loon works as a plumber, treating himself to sets from his favorite lines – Star Wars, Chinese New Year, and Creator 3-in-1. 

When it came time to begin modeling Petaling Street in LEGO, Loon built the same way he had as a child. “ I always sit on the floor to build my project. I never used rendering or sketches to process, just directly putting LEGO parts together.”

“I rarely look at other people’s works. What inspires me is every old photo and old video. I completed each building by myself,” Loon adds. “Except for the text on the stickers, I asked a friend to help me with the text on the old signboards.”

“The most difficult thing is not only getting the original appearance of the old buildings but also making sure the business names are accurate. This requires comparing every old photo to avoid any mistakes.”

Places like Petaling Street no 18, Yan Kee. “This is a shop that sold vinyl records and record players. In the 1950s, not many families could afford one.” The shop was the source for Chinese opera on vinyl in the region.

And Petaling Street no 14 – Seng Kee Restaurant. “In the 1950s, the downstairs of the Dim Sum House sold steamed buns, dim sum, and various types of fried rice and noodles. You might find famous actors singing Cantonese opera upstairs. In addition to eating, sometimes people would bring along a birdcage. Dim sum shops always have a place for them to hang up the birdcages. But these have disappeared.”

“In addition to old buildings, I hoped to show the environment inside the buildings, as well as stalls, cars, tricycles, etc. on the street.” Loon worked with the parts in his collection, mixing minifigs with Friends minidolls to bring the streets to life. 

It was important to Loon that the people he met be accurately reflected in his recreation. Like Uncle Kwong, the tailor. “Uncle Kwong wears very formal clothes every time he works.” 

Uncle Kwong in his shop

Talking about the people he met, brought those memories pouring back. “If I really wanted to tell the whole story, it would take more than tens of thousands of words to finish it,” Loon added with a smile. “In fact, there are many people who helped me, which makes me feel very grateful.  Some of those who helped have passed away in the last few years, but I will always remember them.”

Slowly and steadily, Loon’s LEGO Chinatown filled out. While Loon has shared pictures of individual buildings over the past few years, but it’s hard to get a sense of scale from the photo gallery. “Just counting the total number of 90 buildings in Petaling Street (12 x12 studs each), approximately 45,000 parts were used.”

As for what’s next, “I would also like to be able to display all my works, but I haven’t found a suitable place yet because a relatively large space is required. The total length is 16 feet.” Currently, Loon stores them in a display case in his home.

For now, Loon continues to share photographs and captions on social media – Flickr, Instagram, and Facebook. “I hope to be able to re-present more old buildings that have disappeared and let more people know that there used to be many very beautiful old buildings around them.” 

“I make these old buildings just because I hope everyone can care more about the people and things around them, and don’t feel disappointed when the things around them disappear. Because once time passes, only memories remain. But even memories will slowly fade away over time,” Loon adds.

And yet, through researching and reassembling those fragmented memories in LEGO, Loon has given them new life. 

Loon and his daughter with Uncle Kwong, taken in 2019

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