Foreign artists bring walls to life: 7 moving murals in Ipoh, Malaysia

▲In addition to being famous for its white coffee, Ipoh’s streets also feature many beautiful murals, creating a unique urban landscape. Pictured: A giant hummingbird. (Photo courtesy of Tourism Malaysia, same for all below)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

A city full of artistic charm, a city adorned with numerous heartfelt murals—this is Ipoh, Malaysia. Renowned Lithuanian painter Ernest Zacharevic, with the keen eye of a traveler and incisive insight into everyday life, combined local elements to create seven iconic murals in Ipoh. The interplay of reality and illusion in these murals has won widespread acclaim. Whether you’re a visitor or a local, you can’t help but pull out your camera or phone to capture the moment when passing by.

Giant Hummingbird (A Yellow Hummingbird)
On Jalan Bandar Baru, Old Town, a massive hummingbird flaps its wings, its beak reaching into leaves as it busily collects nectar, greeting passersby. This mural on a parking lot wall is called “Giant Hummingbird.” The hummingbird is the world’s smallest bird, and to highlight its vital role in pollinating various species in the tropical rainforest and sustaining life, artist Ernest Zacharevic enlarged the Malaysian hummingbird to an extraordinary size. The magic of this mural lies in its exquisitely lifelike brushstrokes, making the giant bird appear almost real.

Elderly Man with Coffee Cup (An Old Uncle with Coffee Cup)
An elderly man over seventy holds a traditional blue-and-white ceramic coffee cup from Malaysia, as if he’s just sipped a rich and aromatic cup of Ipoh white coffee and is eager to share its bold flavor. The moment he sets the cup down, he can’t wait to tell you about the strong taste—tangy with bitterness, yet bitter with sweetness. Look, this is the flavor I’ve loved since my youth and still cherish in old age.

The inspiration for the mural came from an elderly man living in Penang, who was often seen sipping coffee at a café on Penang’s Coconut Lane. Over four years ago, Ernest Zacharevic created murals in Penang, and this coffee-loving elder left a deep impression on him. The elderly man even visited Ipoh to see the mural based on himself and took a photo holding the coffee cup. The mural’s astonishing realism leaves viewers in awe of the artistry—even the man’s son remarked that the single remaining tooth in the mural character’s mouth was incredibly lifelike.

Paper Plane (A Paper Plane)
On an otherwise plain wall, a white paper plane suddenly appears—clean and crisp, like a dream or a messenger carrying dreams. Have you ever folded a paper plane of your own? Sending it soaring into the blue sky, hoping it carries your dreams far away. In the mural, two children sit on the plane, as if en route somewhere, pausing in Ipoh, captivated by the scenery and looking around in wonder.

Girl on a Wall in Bandar Timah (Girl On A Wall In Bandar Timah)
Life-like and integrated into daily life—that’s a hallmark of Ipoh’s murals. A little girl stands on stacked stools, even standing on tiptoe with the help of a book to reach a birdcage placed high above. Her fearless expression sparks imagination about what might be going through her mind.

Five Packs of Kopi O Ice (Kopi O Ice)
Kopi O is black coffee with sugar but no milk, its color resembling cola or chilled plum juice. Especially takeout iced coffee, with plastic bags still dripping with condensation, tempts you to take a sip immediately. After seeing the murals in Ipoh, don’t you also want to pack some to try?

Elderly Man Recycling with Trishaw (Old Town Relives Nostalgia With Trishaw)
A slender elderly man stuffs collected cardboard boxes into his already overloaded trishaw. Such laborers exist in every corner of the world, day after day, year after year. Yet Ipoh freezes this moment in time. The mural can serve as recognition, thanking him for caring for the city’s appearance; it can also be a reminder to stay grateful, care for the environment, and cherish the Earth.

Tin Mining Town with Chinese-Style Painting (Mining Iron Ship)
This large black-and-white artwork, using minimal color, covers an entire wall with Ipoh’s developmental history. In the 19th century, Ipoh was a tin mining town where people relied on manual labor to extract tin. The artist used ink wash tones to authentically recreate the scenes of Ipoh’s tin miners at work.

New Street Market in Ipoh has seen a surge in mural fever, adding another tourist highlight to its classic charm. It’s said that the murals in the back alleys of Jalan Sultan Yussuf in New Street Market outnumber those in Old Street Market, with even more vibrant themes and color schemes—old and new shining in harmony.