Put on Nyonya attire in Malacca and relive an old Nanyang dream

📍When it comes to Malaysia, the ancient city of Malacca is always an unavoidable topic. 🔍During the Ming Dynasty, the navigator Zheng He led his fleet to the Western Seas seven times, anchoring in Malacca on five of those voyages. Over time, multiple nations and various cultures have intersected and overlapped here, leaving behind countless cultural heritages. Thus, Malacca City has now been officially listed as a World Heritage Site. 📌Interestingly, the first batch of Chinese who settled in Malaysia intermarried with the local Malays, and their descendants are known as 'Baba' for males and 'Nyonya' for females, forming a unique Chinese ethnic group and 'Nyonya culture' in Malaysia. However, with the passage of time, in order to maintain their respective lineages, the number of Nyonya and Baba has been decreasing, but Nyonya and Baba culture has continued to spread in Malaysia. 🖇️For example, on this day we arrived at the ancient city of Malacca, and the hotel we stayed in is called Baba House, which, as the name suggests, is a Baba culture-themed hotel. The exterior is a blue and white villa, but inside it is filled with scenes of the old days of Chinese life in Malaysia, such as the meticulously designed skywells and water wells in Chinese residences, and huge murals marked with Chinese characters (including Minnan dialect). The hotel has a restaurant, and next door are merchants, with historical sites all over the street, such as the Yong Chun Hui Guan (belonging to Fujian), and the hotel's rooftop even has a leisure spa pool from which you can overlook the entire ancient city. 🌂When here, it's best to put on a set of Baba Nyonya attire, hold an oil-paper umbrella, stroll through the ancient city, and perhaps visit the Straits Cultural Pavilion to experience the making of Nyonya cakes, reliving an old Nanyang dream. 🚶Not far from the hotel is Jonker Street in Malacca, also known as Malaysia's 'Chinatown', which has an exotic atmosphere while retaining many Chinese cultural features. You can choose to walk or book a Malacca trishaw to take you around. 🏨This is an ancient street with a history of over 600 years, where Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, mosques, and churches are everywhere, and Chinese-style ancient houses shine alongside Nanyang and Portuguese-style architecture, with every snapshot looking like a masterpiece. 🍴The street also has the famous specialty store 'San Shu Gong' and Lin Ji Chicken Rice, which has been passed down through three generations, a must-try for foodies. ♦️A popular attraction is the 'Dutch Red Square', which has withstood four hundred years of vicissitudes and still looks as good as new from a distance. It is said that this red building is one of the oldest Dutch structures in Southeast Asia. The red bricks used for its construction were specially transported from the Netherlands, hence its name. 📷Countless tourists crowd every day to take photos with the Red Square, because its bright red color is simply too attractive. The best spot for taking photos is the two-story building opposite the Red Square, where standing in front of the balcony railing allows you to avoid the bustling crowd below and easily get a close-up photo with the Red Square. 🏨In addition to the Red Square, there are also the clock tower, St. Paul's Hill, and the ancient gate of St. James nearby, as well as the Zheng He Museum. Of course, there are also boat tours and trishaws, and it would take more than a day to explore everything in detail. ♦️Red Square interior visiting hours: Daily 9:00-17:30, closed on Mondays (except on public holidays) ♦️If you're only taking photos of the exterior of the building, you can do so at any time.