Dear friends in Malaysia,
Though we only meet by letter, our hearts are just a screen away.
We are from Zhongshan, Guangdong—a small city on the coast of the South China Sea. When you hear the name "Zhongshan," you might smile knowingly: is that not the hometown of Dr. Sun Yat-sen?
Exactly.
In fact, in George Town, Penang, you can find another place named "Zhongshan"—Chong San Wooi Koon. Back in early 19th century, when the first group of people from Xiangshan (the old name for Zhongshan) crossed the sea and set foot on Penang Island, they built their very first "home" on this unfamiliar land. More than two centuries later, it remains the oldest Zhongshan hometown association overseas. The carvings on its wooden beams still carry the patterns of Xiangshan, and the breeze through its pillars still smells of home.
Chong San Wooi Koon in George Town, Penang
Not far from the Chong San Wooi Koon stands a two-storey building with mottled green walls and half-closed louvered windows. In 1910, Dr. Sun Yat-sen spread his paper there, wrote down the two characters "Guang Hua"—meaning "to restore the glory of China"—and founded what would become the century-renowned Kwong Wah Yit Poh.
As you can see, from our Xiangshan ancestors crossing the sea to make a living over 200 years ago, to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's footsteps in Malaysia, and now to the upcoming event: "Guangdong Goods Go Global—Zhongshan Products in Malaysia," the story between Zhongshan and Malaysia has never stopped.
With this as a bridge, we also want to invite you to visit Zhongshan and see for yourselves the remarkable transformation of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's hometown in recent years. If you ever walk down Sunwen West Road—our century-old historic street—you might feel a strange sense of déjà vu: those long rows of colonnaded shop-houses look almost exactly like the old streets of Malaysia.
This is an architectural memory the two places share. Beneath those weathered pillars lie the footprints of our forebears who ventured south across the sea. In those days, they mined tin, planted rubber, opened restaurants, and built schools—and in doing so, they engraved the name "Zhongshan" into a foreign city.
And today, it is our turn to make the journey south to Nanyang (Southeast Asia).
From April 25 to 26, at Pavilion Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur, "Guangdong Goods Go Global—Zhongshan Products in Malaysia" will officially open.
This is the first time since the launch of the "Guangdong Goods Go Global" Initiative that we are taking our products overseas with an offline brick-and-mortar exhibition and sale. Think of it as a lively "Zhongshan Department Store" bazaar—lighting fixtures from Guzhen, hardware from Xiaolan, home appliances from Nantou, Cantonese delicacies, and those smart little gadgets you will call "awesome" after trying. All of them have been packed into containers, shipped from Xiaolan Port, and sailed across the sea just to meet you.
Why did we choose Malaysia as the first overseas stop for "Guangdong Goods Go Global—Zhongshan Products in N Cities"?
Because this place has never felt foreign to the people of Zhongshan.
Two years ago, one of our own—Koo Yuen Kim, chairman of Perfect (China) Co., Ltd.—spoke at the Zhongshan Overseas Chinese Investment Conference. He recalled how, more than 30 years ago, he first set foot on the land of his ancestors with a kinship delegation from the Federation of Chung Shan Association Malaysia. "At that moment," he said, "I knew—this is where my roots are." In 1994, he returned to Zhongshan and founded Perfect.
"Guangdong Goods Go Global—Zhongshan Products in N Cities" in Shanghai
That was 32 years ago. Today, he serves as President of the Malaysia Belt and Road Committee and travels frequently between China and Malaysia. His grandfather once sailed from Zhongshan to Malaysia to seek a better life; he chose to go the other way round. This, to us, is the perfect example of a "two-way journey" between Zhongshan and Malaysia.
Speaking of "two-way journeys," you might think of the Nam Seng Ltd. Nyonya-themed restaurant on Sunwen West Road Pedestrian Street in Zhongshan. The third-generation owner, Zhao Chongbin, had a grandfather who sailed to Penang to open a restaurant. The name "Nam Seng" means "going south to the Nanyang, hoping to succeed."
75 years later, Zhao returned to Zhongshan with his grandfather's secret curry recipe, bringing authentic Nyonya flavours back to Sunwen West Road. As he puts it, "A single bottle of sauce is the best 'Guangdong-Malaysian liaison'."
A bowl of curry, three generations of flavour; a row of shophouses, shared memories between two places.
Today, Zhongshan has transformed into something new. We have 33 major industrial categories, 739,500 market entities, 8,164 foreign-trade companies, and in 2025, our total import and export value reached 287.21 billion yuan—an all-time high. Exports to ASEAN grew by 21%, and exports to Belt and Road countries by 6.5%.
Guzhen's lighting illuminates half of our global trade; Xiaolan's hardware keeps countless factories running; Nantou's home appliances warm millions of households. That lamp in your Kuala Lumpur home—chances are, it came from Guzhen, Zhongshan.
That is why this time, we are bringing Zhongshan products directly to Malaysia—so you can see with your own eyes and touch with your own hands just how good "Guangdong Goods, Made in Zhongshan" really are.
So, dear friends in Malaysia, we warmly welcome you to Pavilion Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur. We have good products, great food, and lovely scenes ready for you. When you come, let’s take our time and chat over:
—what the boat ticket looked like when our ancestors set off from Xiangshan over 200 years ago;
—comparing Malaysia's old shophouses with Zhongshan's—see if they both still carry that same charm after a century of wind and rain;
—tasting Cantonese dim sum and Nyonya dishes—and discovering what makes each so delicious.
Though a letter can only say so much, our goodies are more than enough. On April 25, see you in Kuala Lumpur.
Your friends from Zhongshan
April 23, 2026
Reporter: Guo Zedong
Photos provided to South
