Mapping Jalan Gurdwara

在日落洞大道未開通前，約一公里長的「風車路」（Jalan Gurdwara）曾是日落洞乃至西南縣居民往喬治市的要道。最初，這裡稱為「磚窯路」（Brick Kiln Road），命名由來眾說紛紜，常見說法是當地曾有磚窯，確切位置早不可考。直到1994年，才以這條路上的百年錫克廟重新命名。

有趣的是，即使換了官方名稱，沿路不少老鋪住戶仍慣稱它為「Brick Kiln Road」。舊稱如同口耳相傳的地名密碼，守著一代代人的生活記憶。至於「風車路」中文名，又是另一個謎團。有說與「風吹輪」 ，早期工業機械中的螺旋槳傳動部件相關，亦有指拉風的汽車頻繁出入此處，遂得此名。

或許在檳城人的日常地圖上，風車路只是過場鏡頭，除了週末的Hin Market，平日就不值駐足。但若放慢腳步放大感官，你會發現，這裡藏著關於移民遷徙、勞動現場、產業興衰、異族宗教共存、政策落點與藝文實驗，乃至市政運作佈局的縮影，映照出檳城如何成為今日的模樣。

那些尚未被書寫的故事，我們希望未來能將它們挖掘出來，讓風車路被重新認識。不只是城市的一條幹道，更是部凝縮百年平民史，結合多元主體、跨代生活與經驗，編撰而成的地方誌。

Before the opening of the Jelutong Expressway, the one-kilometer stretch of Jalan Gurdwara served as a main route for residents of Sungai Pinang and the southwest district to reach George Town. Originally known as Brick Kiln Road, its name has long been debated, some say it referred to brick kilns once operating here, though their exact location is now untraceable. In 1994, the road was officially renamed after the century-old Sikh temple that stands along it.

Interestingly, many long-time residents continue to call it “Brick Kiln Road”, keeping the old name alive as a marker of memory. The Chinese street name “風車路” adds another layer of mystery, some say it came from early machinery parts, others from the flashy cars once frequenting the street.

Today, Jalan Gurdwara may appear as a place to pass through, aside from the weekend buzz of Hin Bus Depot. Yet for those who slow down and look closer, the street reveals itself as a microcosm: a place of migration and settlement, sites of labor and industry, coexistence of different faiths, policy footprints, artistic experiments, and even the mechanisms of municipal planning. All threads woven into the making of Penang today.

Many of its untold stories remain buried. Our hope is to unearth them, so that Jalan Gurdwara can be seen not just as a thoroughfare, but as a condensed people’s history, a collective chronicle shaped by diverse communities, generations of lived experience, and local memory.

街道名稱，是我們日常生活中很理所當然的存在同時卻是日常中容易被忽略的存在。

街道名稱可以是一個功能性和管理性的工具，但實際上是在講述和反映一個更宏大的故事，描述著這街道當時的樣貌構造和社會形成，更深一層可以串連到當下社會權利的關係。當權者給予的名字彰顯了管理的權力，不少都會以高官的名字命名街道，然而民間當然也會有一套自己的命名方式，以民間的日常活動，地理特徵去稱呼。

Street names are part of daily life, often unnoticed, yet they reveal much more than directions.

They reflect the landscape and social life of their time, while also showing power dynamics, official names often honoured rulers, while communities created their own names rooted in everyday activities and local features.

有人稱它為風車路，有人稱它 Brick Kiln Road，有人叫它 Jalan Gurdwara。同樣的地理位置，卻帶來不同的記憶與想像。我們對這條街道的稱呼，是否也對應著我們對它的理解？

老檳城都稱這裡為「風車路」，直到今天仍是如此。「風車」或許是指拉風的汽車，或是米較廠內的機械。最早的文字記載可追溯至1900年，Lo Man Yuk 編寫的檳城地名表中提及「風車」指的是 Switchback Railway，可能是指雲霄飛車雛形的娛樂設施。據記載早期出現於 Dato Kramat Garden ，1893年移遷移至風車路。

Some call it "wind carriage road", some call it Brick Kiln Road and others call it Jalan Gurdwara.

The same place carries different names, and with them, different memories and meanings.

The earliest written record dates back to 1900, when Lo Man Yuk’s Chinese Names of Streets in Penang noted that “wind carriage” referred to the Switchback Railway, an early form of roller coaster. This attraction first appeared at Dato Kramat Garden and was relocated to Brick Kiln Road in 1893.

在海峽殖民政府時期，這裡的官方名稱為 Brick Kiln Road。

從地圖、文件、新聞報導與公告中，都可見這個名字的出現。據說此區曾有磚窯，可能位於後來社會主義陣線時期垃圾焚化爐的位置。與磚窯相關的地名還包括 Bakar Bata（最早出現於1893年地圖）以及福建話的「罇仔窰 Chuíⁿ-á-iô」（記錄於1900年地名表中）。

During the Straits Settlements period, the official name here was Brick Kiln Road. Maps, documents, newspapers, and government notices all recorded this name. It is said that brick kilns once stood in the area, possibly on the site later occupied by the incinerator. Related names include Bakar Bata (first appearing on an 1893 map) and the Hokkien term Chuíⁿ-á-iô (“brick kiln”), noted in the 1900 Chinese Names of Streets in Penang.

現今，這條街的官方名稱是 Jalan Gurdwara，得名於街上建於1901年的百年錫克廟 Wadda Gurdwara Sahib。1994年，街名由殖民時期的 Brick Kiln Road 正式改為 Jalan Gurdwara，更加奠定了錫克廟在此地的重要性與地位，也讓街道名稱與現今街景更貼近。

Today, the street’s official name is Jalan Gurdwara, after the Wadda Gurdwara Sahib, a Sikh temple built here in 1901. In 1994, the colonial-era name Brick Kiln Road was officially replaced with Jalan Gurdwara, underscoring the temple’s significance and aligning the street’s name more closely with its present-day landscape.