In order to strengthen cultural and tourism ties between Penang and Hangzhou in China, Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism and Creative Economy, YB Wong Hon Wai recently received a delegation from the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film, Television and Tourism visiting Penang. Both sides held pragmatic discussions marked by a cordial atmosphere and wide-ranging consensus.
“Over the past few years, the Penang State Government has been deeply engaged in tapping the China market, proactively mapping out an international aviation network and launching direct flight routes linking key Chinese metropolises to Penang, comprehensively boosting Penang’s accessibility for China travellers. Today, Penang’s network of direct flights to China is comprehensive and far-reaching. In addition to well-established, high-traffic routes to Guangzhou and Hong Kong, we have successively launched regular direct flights from Xiamen, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing and Qingdao, together with charter flight services to Kunming and Guiyang. These air links have forged a robust connectivity network, laying a solid foundation for cultural, tourism and economic exchanges between Penang and China.”
“For Penang’s tourism sector, visitors originating from cities with direct flights to Penang are certainly valuable, yet the tourism potential of surrounding cities must not be overlooked. The state government’s drive to expand Penang’s aviation network and launch direct flights to major China cities is not merely aimed at attracting tourists from those gateway cities. More importantly, we leverage the spillover effect of aviation hubs to unlock vast visitor markets in neighbouring regions and broaden Penang’s overall pool of China tourists.,” he added in a press statement.
He also shared that the geographical proximity between Shanghai and Hangzhou perfectly illustrates the rationale behind this strategy. Nestled close to Shanghai, Hangzhou falls squarely within the catchment area of Shanghai’s aviation hub.
“At present, there are 10 weekly direct flights between Shanghai and Penang, operated equally by Juneyao Airlines and Shanghai Airlines with five services each week, delivering ample flight capacity and flexible travel options. By using high-speed rail services or extensive domestic flights in China, travellers from Hangzhou can conveniently transit via Shanghai before boarding direct flights to Penang, enjoying a seamless travel experience that paves the way for regional tourists to explore our state.
“The meeting with Hangzhou’s cultural and tourism representatives carries profound significance. “Penang boasts rich South East Asia heritage, a long-standing multicultural legacy and world-famous street food. Hangzhou, by contrast, is celebrated for its timeless Jiangnan charm, picturesque lake landscapes and millennia of profound cultural heritage. Penang and Hangzhou each possess distinct tourism strengths that complement one another. During the dialogue, both sides acknowledged the strong synergy between our tourism offerings and affirmed immense scope for sustained exchanges and mutual tourism promotion,” said Wong.
He further remarked that the two cities share complementary strengths extending well beyond tourism, with highly aligned advantages in science, technology and innovation industries. “Hangzhou stands as China’s national hub for digital economy and artificial intelligence innovation, home to industry leaders including Alibaba and DeepSeek. It boasts cutting-edge computing power, a mature digital ecosystem and abundant tech resources, spearheading the evolution of China’s smart industries. Penang, meanwhile, is a globally renowned hub for semiconductor and chip manufacturing, serving as Southeast Asia’s core precision manufacturing centre with decades of experience in high-end electronics and a solid industrial foundation.
“It is clear that cooperation between Penang and Hangzhou holds immense promise. Moving forward, our partnership can transcend purely cultural and tourism collaboration to embrace multi-industry synergy. Drawing on our respective core strengths in digital innovation and precision manufacturing, we can explore cross-sector integration, resource sharing and mutually beneficial collaboration models.” he ended.