Malaysia welcomes Zhouzhuang partnership, pledges stronger cultural ties and heritage conservation with China
KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — Malaysia today welcomed a tourism and heritage cooperation initiative with China’s century-old Zhouzhuang Ancient Town, aimed at strengthening cultural exchange, sustainable tourism and heritage conservation between both countries.
Ye Xin, general manager of Kunshan Water Town Zhouzhuang Cultural Tourism Development Group Co. Limited, said China and Malaysia share a common cultural heritage and a long history of cultural exchanges.
“Malaysia’s thriving tourism industry and abundant outbound travel market make it a key overseas market for Zhouzhuang.
“This promotion event aims to build a platform for two-way exchange and cooperation, facilitating the flow of visitors between our regions and promoting the sharing of cultural tourism resources, complementing business models and mutual beneficial collaborations,” he said during the campaign’s official launch at InterContinental Kuala Lumpur here.
Ye said he hoped the partnership, which forms part of a global promotion campaign, would further strengthen cultural and business ties, enhance tourism cooperation, promote industrial integration and create more opportunities for two-way collaboration with Malaysian counterparts.
Also gracing the official campaign launch were Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail and Raja Puan Muda of Perlis Tuanku Dr Hajah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil.
Their Royal Highnesses also witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between industry stakeholders and the Zhouzhuang delegation to strengthen destination promotion and marketing collaboration.
The stakeholders include Redberry Media Group, Bumiputera Travel and Tour Agents Association of Malaysia (Bumitra), BMC Travel Sdn Bhd and World Research Travel Organization (WRTO) Malaysia.
Representing Redberry Media Group, Meru Utama Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Herman Lim said the partnership would see the company promote Zhouzhuang to Malaysians as a media partner through high-quality digital content and advertising solutions.
Located in Kunshan, Suzhou, eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, Zhouzhuang is known as China’s No. 1 Water Town and is widely recognised as one of the country’s best-preserved heritage destinations.
Covering 38.96 square kilometres, including 18.16 square kilometres of waterways, Zhouzhuang has been designated a 5A scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration — the country’s highest and most prestigious official tourism rating.
During the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC–476 BC), Zhouzhuang formed part of the fiefdom of Yaocheng, the youngest prince of the Wu State, and was then known as Zhenfengli.
In 1086, during the first year of the Yuanyou era of the Northern Song Dynasty, the town was renamed Zhouzhuang after Zhou, who was then a courtier responsible for personnel selection and evaluation in the imperial administration, donated a piece of land to build the Quanfu Temple.
