Wednesday, 11 Sep 2019
04:39 PM MYT
BY SYLVIA LOOI
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| Great Railway Journeys’ host Micheal Portillo shooting a scene at Taiping Lake Gardens. — Picture via Facebook/ Majlis Perbandaran Taiping |
IPOH, Sept 11 — The
peaceful town of Taiping is set to be included in an episode of BBC’s
travelogue series, “Great Railway Journeys”.
The crew arrived in
Taiping to shoot the scenes on September 7 where programme host Michael
Portillo was taken to several popular locations such as the Raintree Walk,
Taiping Lake Gardens, Taiping central market and Market Square.
In a posting on its
official Facebook page, Taiping Municipal Council (MPT) said the programme
would highlight Portillo’s journeys to several states and locations in Malaysia
via train.
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| The heritage Taiping Central Market will be immortalised in the ‘Great Railway Journeys’ travelogue hosted by Micheal Portillo. — Picture via Facebook/ Majlis Perbandaran Taiping |
“Portillo will delve
into the area’s history and culture at every location he stops besides
highlighting its arts, landscape, delicacies and tourists spots,” added the
council.
Previously, the
television series, which was first screened 10 years ago, had gone to India,
United States, most of Europe and Russia.
The council noted that
the series was based on a travel guide about the history of trains that was
published in 1913.
“Travelling by train
is fast becoming popular,” noted the council.
Following the post,
many social media users urged the council to preserve Taiping’s old buildings.
Es Ng said heritage
buildings should be preserved before they fell apart.
“Perhaps these kind of
events can help speed up the process and get the state government to act fast,”
he wrote.
Ong Lee said nature
was at its best at the Taiping Lake Gardens and Bukit Larut (formerly known as
Maxwell Hill).
“Would be excellent if
MPT can please restore the facade of as many historical buildings as possible
to maintain the status of Taiping Heritage Town,” she wrote.
Wan Mashitah also
urged the council to preserve the old buildings in Taiping.
“If the buildings are
not well maintained, we will lose these valuable assets that makes Taiping
special,” she wrote.
MALAY MAIL
