Actress Fan Bingbing meets Malaysian king Sultan Ibrahim at his Johor palace, eats satay in Melaka

On Tuesday (May 12), Malaysian king Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar hosted Chinese actress and Melaka's Tourism Friendship Ambassador Fan Bingbing at his palace in Johor. The 44-year-old star was in the country to promote her new movie, Mother Bhumi, which is set in Malaysia in the 90s and was filmed in the state of Kedah.

The movie's director, Chong Keat Aun, was also born in Kedah.

In a post on Sultan Ibrahim's social media pages, Fan and Chong are seen standing next to him, holding autographed posters – one by Fan and the other by Sultan Ibrahim.

In her message on the poster, Fan wrote: "Forever healthy! Happy! Joyful!"

Also present at Tuesday's meeting were producer Wong Kew Soon and Fan's manager, Jersey Chong, who was born in Johor.

Fan's trip to Malaysia also saw her meeting fans at five states: Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Melaka, Penang and Kedah.

In Melaka, she set aside time to eat satay celup, saying that she "had to come back for [it]", garnering amusement from fans. The Malaysian dish consists of skewered meats and vegetables that are dipped into a boiling pot of satay sauce.

She also jokingly told her fans not to make the restaurant she visited "too famous", saying: "I still want my table next time."

In recent years, Fan Bingbing has formed a close relationship with Malaysia. In 2024, she was named Melaka's tourism ambassador. By July 2024, Melaka saw more than 8.7 million tourists, an increase of 84.55 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, according to statistics released by the state government.

The following year, in August 2025, Fan was awarded the Darjah Pangkuan Seri Melaka (DPSM) for her contributions, thus giving her the title of Datuk.

“She has helped catapult the historic city into the global tourism spotlight, and we deeply appreciate her efforts,” said Melaka Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh to Malaysian news outlet The Star at the time.