PENANG, Malaysia - Chuang Keng Kung, curator of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Center in the state of Penang, sees his work there as a way to preserve the memory of the great revolutionary while also getting in touch with his own father's revolutionary leanings.

The 74-year-old has worked hard to foster the importance of the memorial center, which once housed the Penang Philomatic Union. The union, which was founded by Sun in Penang in 1908, served in the past as a cover for Sun's revolutionary activities. Today, the building is home to the non-governmental organization that aims to educate.

The center tells the story of the Chinese Hsinhai Revolution, which broke out a century ago and toppled the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

"It took us five years to build up the center after 2005, from collecting documents to raising funds to construct statues and miniatures," said Chuang, whose father joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, or Tongmenghui, that was founded by Sun in 1905 and that was a major part of the revolution.

He said he feels obliged to pass on the stories of the revolution in which his father played a role as well as specifically share information about Sun's life.

Penang, on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, was visited by Sun on at least five occasions in the early 1900s and heard his call for a revolution against the Qing Dynasty.

Sun received generous support and donations from Malaysian Chinese living in Penang.

"Our next step will be to create a 60-meter-long three-dimensional mural on the outside wall surrounding the center to elaborate Sun's activities in Penang," Chuang said. "Hopefully, we will finish it in November in time to commemorate the centennial of the success of the Chinese Hsinhai Revolution."

A great number of Chinese people in Penang have also volunteered to take part in various events and activities marking the life of the man known as the founding father of modern China.

Lim Gaik Siang, the acting archivist of the memorial center, said it has identified 19 historical sites in the state and linked them together as the Sun Yat-sen Heritage Trail.

"What we've delivered is something that fosters the sense of belonging for Malaysian Chinese in Penang and beyond," Lim said.

Sites on the trail include the Penang Chinese Town Hall - a venue used by the Tongmenghui - and the original site of Kwong Wah Daily, a Penang-headquartered Chinese language newspaper founded by Sun in 1910 as a platform for the revolutionaries' voices.

Readers of the paper at one time drove vehicles from Penang to Zhongshan, a city that bears the Chinese name of Sun Yat-sen, in South China's Guangdong province, to honor the revolutionary hero.

"We will launch a similar campaign this year, driving to Wuhan to memorize the centennial of the Wuchang (a district of Wuhan) Uprising," said Loh Nam Hooi, director of Kwong Wah Daily. "We will arrive there on Oct 10, the day the uprising began."