SHAH ALAM, May 3 (Bernama) -- People from all walks of life, together with
Dora the Explorer and i-City, welcomed the first snowfall at Snowalk, the latest
attraction at the City of Digital Lights on March 19 this year, when the
highly-awaited snowfall technology from South Korea was launched.
Snowalk, a 4,645 square metre Arctic ''edutaiment'' attraction centre in Shah
Alam, boasts temperatures of 5 degrees below Celsius and 0.1-metre-thick edible
snow on the ground.
This first snowfall experience in Southeast Asia uses latest Korean
technology, in which purified filtered water is frozen and turned into snow that
is safe enough to taste.
Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen recently said that innovative and
attractive tourism products, such as the Snowalk@i-City would help attract more
visitors to Malaysia, besides spurring domestic tourism.
"In the past, I used to tell foreigners that we, in Malaysia, can offer them
anything except snow. But with Snowalk, we can say that we also have snow in
Malaysia," she said.
INNOVATION AND GROWTH IN TOURISM
i-City''s Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Eu Hong Chew, said the opening of
Snowalk reinforced i-City''s position as an innovative company and knowledge hub.
"As a knowledge hub, our focus is on getting innovative companies to come to
i-City. For this reason, when we wanted to develop tourist attractions, it was
natural to focus on innovation to provide the competitive edge."
When i-City was launched about six years ago, it was planned as a digital
city. It was an innovative idea at that juncture and even today, i-City is
regarded by Multimedia Development Corporate (MDeC) as the benchmark for future
cyber centres in the country.
Eu added that i-City continued innovating when it launched its first tourist
attraction, The City of Digital Lights, in December 2009.
Eu said, "That is why when the Snowalk attraction was plann ed, we sought
technology that created a unique experience with real falling snow, instead of
depending on some FX-type of snowfall.
Snowalk introduces the concept of snow and cold climates i n a fun,
entertaining and educational way. Among the attractions are the Snowalk igloo,
castles, ships and bridges, penguins, swans, illuminated Barney and Baby Bop
replicas in snow, as well as several types of winter games for all age groups.
SNOWFALL TECHNOLOGY FROM SOUTH KOREA
Eu said i-City uses Korean technology to create snow fall through a rotating
16-drum machine using purified water. Visitors will be able to experience
snowflakes that are very similar to snow that falls from the sky.
As a cold environment with ice sculptures is not new in Malaysia, Eu said
i-City wanted unique technology to make a difference with snowfall.
Some places, such as Mines Wonderland and Genting Snow World, have already
created special effects using artificial snowfall in Malaysia.
"Therefore, we asked the Korean company, BarsKorea, to custom-build a unique
snow machine for i-City to generate snow in a tropical environment. We told
BarsKorea that we wanted edible snow," Eu said.
On Feb 24, Eu, on behalf of i-City, signed a strategic alliance for
exclusive rights in Malaysia with Snow Ice Maker BarsKorea in Incheon
Metropolitan City, South Korea. BarsKorea has been supplying snow machines to
the food and beverages industry for the past 10 years.
BarsKorea took almost ten months to build the 16-drum snow machine, which is
able to generate six tonnes or approximately 6,000 kilogrammes of soft and
powdery snow per day.
As part of the agreement, Eu said i-City allows BarsKorea to bring business
customers to view the snowfall machine in operation.
Without mentioning the cost of the machine, he said the first phase was to
install the machine above the ceiling at the grand entrance to Snowalk.
The machine has three components: a chiller to cool purified water from room
temperature to 15 degrees Celsius, a condenser unit to refrigerate the snow drum
to -35 degrees Celsius, and finally, blades in the snow drums to convert ice
into soft and powdery snowflakes.
Besides experiencing real falling snow, Eu said, visitors could also admire
the LED lightscapes set among 100 tonnes of creatively designed ice sculptures.
Workers from Harbin, China, a city famed for generations of ice cavers and
town-sized annual ice sculptures, brought their expert skills and home-made
tools to Shah Alam to construct every piece by hand.
A LIGHTSCAPE DELIGHT
Showcasing the latest LED technology, i-City is an exciting and fascinating
place to visit, as it combines LED lights technology and traditional elements
for a unique sight.
It is being dubbed as the first lightscape tourist destination in Malaysia.
Eu said that visitors can stroll around a colourful forest that resembles a
four-season park filled with dozens of interesting sculptures.
The township accommodates high-tech infrastructure allowing a unique display
of digital lights. These attractions are located at CityPark and CityWalk.
"The digital city includes trendy shopping streets and is equipped with a
theme park to cater to visitors looking for a place to unwind," Eu said. He
added that it was aimed at night destination tourism.
FAMILY-ORIENTED LEISURE DESTINATION
To further strengthen its position as a family-oriented leisure destination
in Klang Valley, i-City Marketing Director, Monica Ong, said that i-City has
tied-up with Nickelodeon to provide international and themed promotional events.
With 90,000 visitors a week, i-City''s tie-up with Nickelodeon will also add
domestic and international dimensions in promoting Malaysia as a tourist
destination.
Nickelodeon is a leading brand in entertainment, well-known to children and
parents of all ages.
"This is going to be an exciting year for i-City. We have lined up US$5
million for international promotional and theme programmes," she said.
Dr Ng Yen Yen was quoted as saying that her ministry has been promoting
i-City globally and this Nickelodeon/i-City tie-up would reinforce the
ministry’s efforts to promote i-City as a family and leisure destination around
the region.
-- BERNAMA
CS CR INE CR
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