'It was all a misunderstanding': China tourist who painted a panda over Penang mural actually invited by original painter

A tourist from China came under fire from Malaysians after she was seen painting a panda artwork over an existing street art mural at Chew Jetty in Penang, Malaysia, on Oct. 15.

In reality, she had been invited to do so by the mural's original artist.

Faced backlash from netizens

In a video posted on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, the tourist, who goes by the moniker "狮狮" (Shi Shi), meaning lion, was shown painting on the mural "Girl on Scooter".

The mural was painted by an artist from Malaysia and has been a popular attraction for tourists who visit Penang.

The earlier part of the video showed a man, believed to be a vendor in the area, stepping in to stop the tourist from painting, leading many to believe that she was acting without permission.

Despite this, she eventually completed a small panda illustration on the scooter's footrest.

The video quickly drew criticism from Malaysian netizens, who accused the tourist of defacing the artwork, disrespecting local heritage, and acting without the consent of the homeowner or the mural's original artist.

Some also claimed that she had damaged a heritage site and called for action from the authorities.

Invited by the original artist of the mural

However, when a reporter from Sin Chew Daily visited the site to speak to the artist of the mural, Zhou Hua Xing (transliteration), it was revealed that the incident had been a huge misunderstanding.

According to Zhou, he had invited the tourist to add her panda artwork to his mural.

He said that he had come across her paintings on Xiaohongshu and found them very creative, prompting him to reach out and invite her to collaborate.

He added that he really liked the panda painting which she added, and revealed that the two also had dinner together before the tourist returned to Chongqing, China.

However, he did not expect such a strong reaction online.

Zhou explained that his sister, who owns the wall on which the mural is painted on, was not informed about the tourist's visit beforehand, which led to the initial confusion when locals tried to stop the tourist from painting.

Zhou's sister said that she was shocked to hear from her neighbour that someone was painting on her wall, and she immediately called Zhou.

"He told me to let her continue," she said.

After learning that her brother had given the tourist permission to paint over the mural, Zhou's sister said that she was not upset and even gave the tourist a commemorative T-shirt which had an image of "Girl on Scooter" printed on it.

She added that the tourist also gifted them panda refrigerator magnets as souvenirs.

Both siblings have urged the public not to criticise the tourist, saying that it was all a misunderstanding, and that the matter had been blown out of proportion.

Top photos via 狮狮 and Sin Chew Daily