Dating to the 1930s, this silent movie shows a visit to Penang, Malaysia and China. The movie was originally produced by a tour company to encourage travel to the Far East aboard British based ocean liners.
The film starts in Penang, a state in northwest Malaysia comprising mainland Seberang Perai and Penang Island. At :39 what appear to be tents for cultivation are seen, and at :38 what might be a plantation house. At :59 a child is bathed and at 1:05 washing is conducted in a river. At 1:18 a sugar plantation is shown. At 3:42 the film moves to Java, where the Buitenzorg gardens are seen, aka Bogor Botanical Gardens. This is a botanical garden located in Bogor, Indonesia, 60 km south of Jakarta. The Gardens are located in the city center and adjoin the presidential palace compound of Istana Bogor. At 5:30 the film moves on to Peking, where the imposing Summer Palace is shown. The Summer Palace is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing, China. It was an imperial garden in Qing Dynasty. Mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, it covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi), three-quarters of which is water.
Longevity Hill is about 60 metres (200 feet) high and has many buildings positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich with splendid halls and pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty. The central Kunming Lake, covering 2.2 square kilometres (540 acres), was entirely man-made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill.
By 9:30, the film has moved to India and Humayun’s Tomb – The Mini Taj Mahal located in Delhi, India. This is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun commissioned by Humayun’s first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum), in 1569-70, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
