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Cuisine in Melaka

MALACCA SET TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION

Published: Tuesday September 3, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM

Updated: Tuesday September 3, 2013 MYT 11:53:03 AM

Malacca set to make an Impression

BY JUNE H.L. WONG

A scene from the Impression Liu Sanjie outdoor musical in Guilin, which features dazzling light effects and an awesome setting of mountains and a river.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malacca will become the first city outside China to stage the 10th production under acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s “Impression” series of outdoor musical shows.

Impression Melaka, is a project between PTS Impression Sdn Bhd and China Impression Wonders Art Development Co Ltd, which will be endorsed by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz today as a National Key Economic Area project under Pemandu.

This follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by PTS Impression CEO Boo Kuan Loon and China Impression Wonders Art Development Co’s co-founder and CEO Wang Chaoge in February in Malacca, witnessed by then Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, and the project’s official launch in Beijing in May.

The immensely successful Impression musicals were founded by Zhang and his creative partners Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue who were also directors of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The stage for Impression Melaka will be built to look like a Chinese junk in Admiral Zheng He’s fleet with the audience seated in the middle.

All the Impression shows are live outdoor performances involving huge casts, humongous stages and amazing special effects.

The first was launched in 1998 in Guilin called Impression Lui Sanjie on a 2km-long setting along the Li River. Since then, there are Impressions in nine locations all over China, including Lijiang and West Lake, using spectacular natural backdrops.

Impression Melaka, however, will be performed on a gigantic stage built to look like Admiral Zheng He’s junk with a revolving seating area for 2,014 in the middle.

It was Wang who decided on Malacca as her company’s first foreign foray after being pursued by a persistent Boo who brought she and her team to visit his hometown.

Boo, 42, who describes himself as a true-blue anak Melaka, is a property developer who wants to create a destination theatre experience to benefit locals and give tourists a reason to stay overnight in Malacca.

Mr. Boo Kuan Loon, CEO of PTS Impressions Sdn Bhd
Boo wants to create a destination theatre experience to benefit locals and give tourists a reason to stay overnight in Malacca.

“Most tourists come to Malacca for day tours but don’t stay overnight because there isn’t much to see or do at night. Impression Melaka can change that as there will two performances every night,” he said.

Boo added that it was a feather in Malacca’s cap that Wang’s company chose the city for its first foreign production out of 150 proposals from cities around the world, thanks in part to its Unesco world heritage status.

Although Impression Melaka’s storyline and music are being written and the stage designed by China Impression Wonders Art Development Co, Boo stressed it would not be a Chinese story but one that reflected Malacca’s vibrant cosmopolitan history and heritage.

As Wang said in an interview with Lifestyle Magazine, “When we go outside the country, we’re not taking Chinese culture and exporting it to them, but rather we export our art and performance – Impression Melaka is about Malaysian culture.”

She was also quoted as saying at the Beijing launch that Impression Melaka would “showcase the city’s glorious past and modern day life.”

Nevertheless, the junk-shaped stage recalls Zheng He’s five visits to the port in seven voyages between 1405 and 1433 which led to a longstanding relationship between the Malacca sultanate and China.

The directors: (from left) Zhang, Wang and Fan who will create Impression Melaka.
Impression Melaka, a RM300mil project, is funded by local and foreign investors and will be the only one in the region for the next three years, said Boo.

He said the 75-minute long show, with a cast of 200, is projected to sell 1.3 million tickets a year, at about RM130 a seat.

Like other Impression shows, most of the performers will be ordinary folk living in the vicinity who will be trained by Zhang, Wang, Fan and their team.

While its location is still under wraps, Boo said the theatre will require 8.1ha, while another 32.4ha will be developed for other related developments, such as restaurants and a tourism village.

Impression Melaka is scheduled to open in October 2014, in conjunction with Malaysia-China Friendship Year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations and in time for Visit Malaysia Year.

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Cuisine in Melaka

IMPRESSION MELAKA TO BE READY BY END 2014

Impression Melaka Launched as Part of the Overseas Expansion Plan of the “Impression” Series

BEIJING, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Impression Melaka was launched at the Beijing Hotel on the afternoon of May 15. Present at the press conference were the Ambassador of Malaysia to China Datuk Iskandar Sarudin, Ambassador of China to Malaysia Datuk Chai Xi, Chief Director of the “Impression” Series Ms. Wang Chaoge , and PTS Impression SDN BHD CEO Mr. Boo Kuang Loon. The event marked the official launch of Impression Melaka, the first foreign leg of the large-scale live-action show of the “Impression” Series, which is a new cultural and creative brand of China.

The signing ceremony was held in a typical Chinese way. PTS CEO Mr. Boo Kuang Loon and Chief Director Ms. Wang Chaoge stamped the scroll of Impression Melaka with a Chinese seal together, which marked the launch of the program.

The Ambassador of Malaysia to China Datuk Iskandar Sarudin observed that Melaka had a long history with China. Over 600 years ago, the Chinese navigator Zheng He visited Melaka several times during his voyages, and built a bridge between the two nations. He pointed out that Malaysia needed a unique, world-class cultural program like the Impression Series to help with the development of its local tourism, and increase the international reputation of the city. The federal, state, and municipal government will provide full support for Impression Melaka. The Ambassador of China to Malaysia Datuk Chai Xi said that the year 2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia and Impression Melaka is sure to be an important part of the celebration.

Chief Director Ms. Wang Chaoge said that Impression Melaka, as her 10th “Impression” event, will make new breakthroughs while continuing the tradition of the Impression Series to introduce to the world a real Melaka. Mr. Boo Kuang Loon explained that he grew up in the ancient city of Melaka, and had always dreamed of introducing the beautiful and magnificent city to the world. After years of investigation and research, he decided that the Impression Series was the one that could help him realize his dream. That was why he invited the team of the Impression Series to Melaka. He stressed that Impression Melaka would become a beautiful pearl of Melaka, and a new mark of the city’s culture and tourism.

Malaysian investment development authority director Datuk Ng Peng Hay described the situation of Melaka, Malaysia as having the best economic record in Asia, becoming the third largest economy in Southeast Asia and playing an important role in Malaysia’s economic development. Besides, Melaka is also a historic city with a rich cultural heritage. The Impression Melaka will show Melaka’s rich unique history and cultural heritage through artistic creation, and become the new cultural tourism project of Melaka, which will play an important role for Melaka’s sustainable economic development and inheritance of history and culture.

The Impression Series launched its first live-action show, Impression Liu Sanjie, in 1998, which turned out to be one of the greatest initiatives of the performance market of the world as well as China, with artistic and technical breakthroughs, real landscape as the scene, modern artistic designs, and splendid visual effects. The Impression Series has now grown into the No. 1 live-action show brand of China after the following eight events, including Impression Lijiang and Impression West Lake.

The “Impression” team chose Melaka as the first stop of its overseas expansion because it’s one of the few historic cities in Southeast Asia, and one of earliest ports of the world that bridges the western and the eastern part of the world. It embraces immigrants from both the West and the East, and generates a unique culture demonstrating characteristics of different countries, including languages, religions, and customs. Still preserving the ancient look, the city was included in the UNESCO “World Heritage List.”

Impression Melaka, as the 10th event of the Impression Series, will open in Melaka at the end of 2014.

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Cuisine in Melaka

MALACCA IMPRESSIONS BY END 2014

Malacca all set to make a huge Impression

MALACCA: An outdoor performance combining spectacular, high-tech lighting with natural scenery is set to make its debut in Malacca by the end of 2014.

Under an MoU signed between PTS Impression Sdn Bhd and Impression Wonder Arts Co. Ltd of China, the performance – part of the “Impression” series – in Malacca will be the first to be held outside China.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, who witnessed the signing, said the Impression series would unveil a pool of local performers as well as provide job opportunities for locals.

“Its debut in Malaysia is considered a dream come true for me as I always wanted to have the performance held here following the splendid show during the Beijing Olympics in 2008, which was also choreographed by the company’s director, Wang Chao Ge.

“The presence of the eminent entertainment company will give the country, particularly Malacca, a big-bang effect,” she said.