Iconsiam celebrates five decades of Sino-Thai ties with lantern festival
Running at River Park is the Bangkok debut of the Yuyuan Lantern Festival 2025, a renowned event from Shanghai with over a century of history and officially listed as an intangible cultural heritage of China.
The theme, "Spirit Of Mountains And Seas", draws inspiration from the ancient Chinese classic Shan Hai Jing (The Classic Of Mountains And Seas), reimagined through contemporary lantern artistry using immersive light, shadow and interactive technology.
Besides the lantern displays, there are cultural performances, local product markets, themed cultural weeks and multimedia art exhibitions.
Adding vibrancy to the celebration is the Bangkok debut of the "Yimu Exhibition" featuring adorable art toys by Leo Huang, a visionary IP creator from Yimu Art design studio who draws from global ecological inspirations to design characters that connect people, nature and cities.
He has brought his signature characters such as the brown panda Seven, the pink hippo Hippo Go and the giant blue bear Hello! Bear to delight Thai audiences at the Walkway, M floor. Available for purchase are collectable items that act as cultural ambassadors symbolising unity across nations.
Exclusively from July 10-16 at 7pm, prepare to witness the Shantou Teochew Chinese Opera Show by Kung Tung Teochew Opera Troupe, a legendary company from Shantou that has garnered numerous national awards and has toured extensively around the world.
The show is renowned for its dramatic storytelling, emotional depth, exquisite costumes and sets and spectacular stage effects.
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4 days ago
- Bangkok Post
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Bangkok Post
28-07-2025
- Bangkok Post
Sirivannavari and Iconcraft launch exquisite Thai silk collection
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Bangkok Post
28-07-2025
- Bangkok Post
Blueprint for global success
The Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA) was established as a result of the success of Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), which develops cultural and entertainment content that can achieve global influence and lead to economic benefits. THACCA aims to drive Thailand's creative economy in 14 industries including film, TV series, festivals, art and sports. Recently, the THACCA organised the event "Splash Soft Power Forum" at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) to drive the economy, to push soft power strategies and collaborate with local and international organisations. At the visionary stage, the forum "Actors Without Borders: The Role of Performers in a World Where Stories Know No Boundaries" revealed experiences of two Thai performers -- Pirat "Mike" Nitipaisalkul and Nam Laks on the international stage. Pirat, better known as Mike, rose to fame as Golf Mike during his teenage years. He became an established actor in Thailand with many successful TV drama series such as Full House and Kiss Me. In 2015, he started working in China on the TV series Wu Xin: The Monster Killer and has acted in many Chinese TV series since then. In 2018, he became the first Thai actor to win the Foreign Artist of the Year Award at the Weibo Fan Festival which highlights his popularity in China. With his acting talent, Mike became a supporting actor in a 2021 Hollywood action movie The Misfits; Pierce Brosnan also starred in the film. Meanwhile, Nam Laks was a cast member in the Netflix reality TV show Bling Empire: New York in 2023. The programme presents the opulent lifestyle of Asians and Asian-Americans in New York. Nam is the daughter of Nakorn Laksanakarn, a Thai millionaire in the real estate and hospitality industries. MR Chalermchatri Yukol, chairman of the National Soft Power Development Subcommittee for film, documentaries, animation and TV series, was one of the forum speakers who talked about THACCA's policies on how to develop an ecosystem in the film and TV industry to support Thai performers. The forum kicked off when Pirat spoke about his debut in China in 2015. Pirat said it was not an easy path and he went when he could not speak the language. "The barrier for me that time was the language and cultural assumptions, but I went anyway. My first series was a wuxia Chinese show, so the language was very hard. I did not know what was going to happen. I just took the risk and it was worth it because that led me to more projects in China, more fame and I got to be in a Hollywood film. An actor needs to set goals which makes them realise what they are doing it for. I enjoy working in China. To be honest, the system is better than in Thailand," said Pirat. Unlike Pirat, Nam was not in films. She revealed that she became a cast member of Bling Empire: New York because a friend introduced her to a scout. "I was studying in New York at the time. My friends were friends with the scout who was looking for cast members for the reality TV series. They hooked us up and there were interviews and auditions. It was a very long process and I think I was kind of lucky," explained Nam. Although called a reality show, viewers wondered whether it was scripted or not. "It was unscripted, but at the end of the day, a TV show is a TV show. There was a lot of improvisation. They kept the cameras rolling until they got what they wanted. If they did not get what they wanted, they would stop and moved on to something else. It was an interesting experience, but at this point, I prefer to transition into a fictional character rather than perform in a reality show." said Nam. There are only a few Thai actors who have made it to international TV series and films. Chalermchatri admitted that it is difficult for Thai actors to achieve international success because the Thai film and TV industry does not have adequate infrastructure to support actors on international platforms. "I attend an event in Singapore almost every year. Last year, I found that Indonesian, Filipino, Singaporean and Taiwanese actors are very good. They have good posture and speak three or four languages. Thus, they are able to match with other production houses. They have been in the industry long enough that they can land a job in other places besides their own country," said Chalermchatri. "However, Thailand does not have companies, agents and talent managers. We do not have the needed infrastructure for actors such as publicists, law firms and entertainment lawyers. These people are vital in helping propel an actor abroad. This is sad and we need to change." Pirat revealed that he enjoyed working in China more than Thailand because China provides structural support. "When I work in Chinese and Hollywood films, I do not feel as tired as when I film in Thailand. In Thailand, I used to work until 4am and at 6am they called me up again. In China and Hollywood, we only work 10 hours or 12 hours a day or eight hours some days because they have a budget. Therefore, actors do not feel tired and we can focus more on the acting, script and production. In Thailand, if I ask for a trailer, they will think I am high maintenance. However, I require it because it helps to have a quiet place to focus on the script and be ready for the next scene." As a cast member who worked in an international environment, Nam said there was someone to take care of her individually. "They asked for your opinion. They would push you, but they would respect your boundaries. There was someone that you could go to and they would speak to the director or the producers for you." Chalermchatri, who also has a role as a TV series director, said that he is working on a show and they film 12 hours rather than 16, so they have at least a turnaround of 12 hours. Moreover, he said it would take time for people to understand about reducing workload because crew members have to change their mindset. "It is a work in progress. Within three to five years, I think people will see a big transition from trying to push things very hard 24 hours a day, seven days a week until health becomes a concern. It doesn't come by just having a good mindset. It also needs regulations and education. The education system needs to change, so that people who study in film schools can provide this support," said Chalermchatri. "Additionally, we need to train more people. If we need someone to take care of actors and/or cast members one on one, this means we need to train more people to be able to support them. We also need to build ecosystems. We should have a competitive market, so that movie ticket prices go down. The production can reach out instead of having only one or two companies set their own ticket prices. We have to look at the big picture, so we can start to strategise and proceed step by step. Things are still in progress, because it is not like one size fits all. There will be many solutions, new policies and many changes. We hope to show how we can transform the industry and hope people follow us on
