February | 2016

Have you ever heard about the Qing Xin Ling Leisure and Cultural Village in Ipoh? I had not, until Aric mentioned it to me as a possible “stay-overnight” place during our recent trip up North. It turned out to be fully booked, but we decided to have a look at it anyway, because you can visit it as a day-tripper (RM 6). In the reviews (see the link above), people complain that the place can be overcrowded on weekends, during our visit it was still ok.

Here you see the location of Qing Xin Ling. Ipoh is surrounded by limestone hills, the image shows Gunung Rapat. Many caves and “wangs”, depressions enclosed by high limestone cliffs. Many Chinese temples too, one of them located at Qing Xin Ling. Recently the temple committee has transformed the temple grounds into a “Leisure and Cultural Village”, which has become so successful that the residents, living nearby, are complaining about traffic jams and parking woes.

We paid the entrance fee and walked around. Mixed feelings. The location is beautiful, two lakes, surrounded by steep limestone cliffs. You can walk around the lakes, a number of brightly colored chalets has been built on the shores. Without the day trippers walking and cycling(!) around, it could have been a paradise.

But this serene atmosphere has been destroyed by the many artifacts constructed, to make it a kind of theme park. For example, what is a boat doing there, between the two lakes? From the deck you have a nice view of the two lakes, but for the rest it is an eyesore. Very strange.

It is a confusing mixture of memorabilia ( an old motorbike, a push bike, a horse cart) and kitsch. Aric as birdman, stickers instead of love locks. Hm, a tree root, let’s paint it as a snake. Shall we add two dinosaurs? Anything goes…:-)

: Motorbike

: Horse cart

: Pushbike

: Love lock variation

: Orang Asli hut

: Eagle Aric

: A tree root as snake

: Two dinosaurs

It becomes much more interesting when you walk up to what I would call “memory lane”, a path leading to the upper wangs, where a number of stalls and shops have been created with old/antique stuff. Here you could spend a lot of time. Mostly bric-a-brac, but still interesting

When you continue after this memory lane, you enter a completely different world. A trail leads up to Iron Hill, the top of Gunung Rapat. Recently this trail has been included in the “village”. In the beginning the trail is clear and well maintained, but it becomes steeper, there are ropes. You will pass old machinery dating back to when iron was mined here. As we were not prepared for a hiking tour we went as far as we could go, but went back before reaching the summit. Halfway, we had a nice view of Ipoh.

Will we ever come back here to stay in one of the chalets? No. But, better prepared, we like to explore the trail to the top of Iron Hill.

Two years ago I published a post about Penang Street Art , and one year ago one about Street Art in KL. Using walls of buildings as a “canvas” for works of art is becoming more and more popular these days. Sometimes/often of mediocre quality. But when I heard that Zacharevic had created a series of murals in Ipoh, I wanted to see them. Because this artist adds something special to his creations.

The seven murals are all in the old part of Ipoh, and on walking distance from each other. Here is a map. The Kinta river is at the right, the padang at the top. The Zacharevic murals are indicated with red markers and names in yellow. We found a few others, marked in blue.

Here are two characteristic Zacharevic murals, incorporating real-life items, a chair, a trishaw. The left picture shows a girl, standing on a stool, reaching up to a birdcage, holding the air vent for support. To the right a man loading a trishaw.

These 3D murals of course invite the spectator to become part of the artwork..:-). And the concept is easy to copy. The two anonymous murals Beer and Lunch have probably been commissioned by nearby cafes…:-). The difference in quality is obvious.

: The artist himself

: Kwai Loh & Trishaw

: Beer

: Lunch

Many of Zach’s creations here in Ipoh are large, like Paper Plane, high up a wall and Old Uncle, where he even uses the wooden planks of the building.

Here are two more, the left one is titled Kopi O, the right one Hummingbird.

All the murals have explanatory plaques. You may wonder about the hummingbird, hovering in the air. Looks like something is missing..:-). When Zacharevic created this mural, there still was a huge tree. but it has been cut now, with only a stump left. No problem, in interviews Zach has said that his art is not meant for eternity. Even the murals themselves will fade over time. Personally I like his approach.

: Art of Oldtown plaque

: Huge size

: Something missing?

: The tree has been cut!

The most impressive mural is called Evolution and its theme is the tin mining industry that made Ipoh and the Kinta Valley famous.

: Nice surroundings

: Detail

: Detail

: Signature of the artist

On our walk we found another Zacharevic mural, an attractive one. Maybe not included because the theme (Kopi O) is the same as the big one. We also found a horse statue, without any explanation. And we met an artist, Mr Woon, working on a mural, commissioned by the owner of a nearby shop. A friendly man, he showed us his atelier.