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"I will be here in Melaka next month to promote tourism and will travel here frequently," she said after receiving the honor during an investiture ceremony marking the birthday of Melaka Governor Mohd Ali Rustam on Sunday.
Fan said she was elated with the recognition and described it as a deeply meaningful gesture, Free Malaysia Today reported.
"This is such a precious gift to me," she added.
The 43-year-old actress was appointed Melaka's tourism ambassador in May 2024, and her three-day visit to the city in June last year reportedly generated 1.2 billion online searches, with "Melaka" alone accounting for more than 445 million, the South China Morning Post reported.
Fan, best known internationally for her roles in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "I Am Not Madame Bovary," kissed her medal in front of the media after the ceremony to express her joy.
She now joins the ranks of international stars previously honored by Malaysia for their contributions to tourism, including Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan.
From 2013 to 2017, Fan was named the highest-paid celebrity in the Forbes China Celebrity list.
In 2014, she joined the Barbie global celebrity Hall of Fame and became China's First Barbie Doll while she also appeared on Vanity Fair's 'Best Dressed' list in 2015 and 2016.
In 2017, Fan was listed by Time Magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential individuals, though she has kept a lower profile from 2018 when she was fined over $100 million by the Chinese authorities for tax evasion.
