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A Special International Report Prepared by
The Washington Times Advertising Department - Published on October 25, 1999
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Advertisers
(1) Macau Trade & Investment Promotion Institute
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Furthermore, Macau's number of visitor arrivals reached 4.28 million in the first seven months of the year, a 7 percent increase on the same period last year according to a recent release from Macau's Statistics and Census Department. "Macau is unique because of our rich heritage accumulated over 400 years of the coexistence of the Portuguese and the Chinese," remarked Maria Helena De Senna Fernandes, deputy director of Macau Tourism. Even the casual observer cannot fail to experience the special Mediterranean traits found in the city's charming streets and urban landscape, the mixture of Catholic churches and Buddhist temples, the jumble of Chinese and Portuguese restaurants. Those who by chance and good fortune stumble upon an invitation to a "Cha gordo" festive dinner, can experience the supreme celebration of Macau's European and Asian ethnic cultural integration.
As the handover of the enclave draws closer, China is taking more than passing notice of the rich cultural legacy of the Portuguese. From Macau's impressive Museum of Art to the new Cultural Center, the Chinese are subtly and often directly reminded of the sensibilities and aesthetics, religious preferences, free expression, and the Portuguese spirit.
A past exhibition, "Treasures of Portugal" held at Macau's Museum of Art over the summer, brought together over 600 works of art from private collections and diverse sources from the bishoprics of Oportos and Braga. This exhibition and other efforts have successfully drawn attention to Macau's rich gift to China. The dramatic architectural splendor, the $100 million Macau Cultural Center, symbolizes all that is positive about Macau as it approaches a new chapter in its history. The center's location is ideal. It is situated at the junction of Avenide Xian Xing Hai and Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen, on one of Macau's most recent land reclamation areas at the Outer Harbor.
Not surprisingly, it was Dr. Stanley Ho, the gaming impresario, who had a large hand in making the Cultural Center a reality by providing 50 percent of the cost for this distinguished Macau-inspired cultural edifice. The center has already hosted numerous impressive international arts and cultural programs and may well prove to be the cultural jewel of Macau. For that matter, the Portuguese government must be given due credit for rehabilitating buildings that have historic value. While that heritage is under pressure, particularly in light of the imminent handover, visitors can find the Chinese temples, certain buildings along Avenida Almeida Ribeiro, the old opium factory, and the "mythical" Bairro do Lilau all fully restored or saved from destruction. It is at Largo do Senado, the pedestrian square centrally located in front of the Leal Senado or Municipal Council, that the traditional Portuguese cobbled stone pavements are most evident. Made with mosaic tiles and imported from Portugal, this area forms an open courtyard that is home to many restaurants, shops, and other business establishments. Often at the end of the day, the sounds of a Chinese orchestra can be heard outside the local headquarters of the Santa Casa da Misericordia, a Portuguese charitable institution established in 1568. Macau is gambling on the fact that this heritage will be an important draw for tourists. In contrast to its neighbor, Hong Kong, which destroyed many of its colonial buildings, the hope is that many of the enclave's older buildings will be preserved. The beautiful former hotel, the Bela Vista, elegantly restored to its former nineteenth century glory and perched above the sea, will house the new Portuguese consulate after the handover. At the same time, select Portuguese landmarks were removed by command of the People's Republic of China, including the statue of former governor Ferreira do Amaral on horseback. This sculpture proved most offensive to the Chinese since it depicts the former governor beating the Chinese. For the Portuguese, however, this sculpture was a valuable piece of their national heritage, which had previously dominated the square in front of the Lisboa Hotel. It now rests mothballed in a warehouse in Portugal. According to Salavessa da Costa, secretary for communication, tourism, and culture, tourism accounts for nearly half of Macau's GDP. The territory offers numerous hotel properties for the visitor. The Mandarin Oriental's Frank Stocek is enthusiastic about the handover, an attitude reflected by his hotel's financial commitment; which is in the midst of a major expansion that will transform this excellent business hotel into a world-class resort directly adjacent to where the handover ceremony will be broadcast to billions of viewers. "We are indeed looking forward to the handover and what it bring us both in the short term and as we look into the future. Our new resort complex will prove most exciting, and we intend to draw more families as visitors to Macau in the coming year," added the ebullient young manager.
Not everyone would characterize the Lisboa Hotel as one of Macau's cultural landmarks, but no one can mistake it's unique architectural style, associated with geomancy, the idea of gaming czar, Dr. Stanley Ho. This iconic building, with over 966 rooms and 74 suites, including 5 presidential suites, 14 restaurants, a nightclub, and two floors that are entirely given over to gambling, is open 24 hours a day. It is a "city within a city" and many tourists have left more than patacas (the local currency) behind. The Barra Fortress, built in the middle of the seventeenth century, is the setting for a traditionally Portuguese pousada: the Pousada de Sao Tiago. Its 23 rooms are perfectly integrated into the architectural outlines of the fortress. It lends itself naturally to leisurely sitting on the terrace and appreciating the magnificent view over the estuary of the Pearl River. On the neighboring island of Coloane, next to Hac-Sa beach, stands the Westin Resort Macau, overlooking the magnificent South China Sea. It is one of the region's finest hotels. According to its management, "the hotel targets both leisure and business travelers." It is ideally suited for family getaways, particularly serving the Hong Kong weekend crowd. So with the development of new hotels, restorations of colonial buildings, cultural centers and the like, Macau recognizes the important link it plays as a bridge between East and West. This strategy of preservation and modernization is based on the concept of meeting the interests of Macau, China, and Portugal beyond 1999. Although the Chinese visitors or gamblers have historically stayed too short a time in Macau, that may not be case after the handover. After all, for some Chinese it's a homecoming of sorts, and Macau may well serve as a dragon head of tourism in the western part of Pearl River Delta. |
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(1) Betting on the future with China |
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Macau's regular visitors from Hong Kong quickly disembark from high -speed ferries and head straight for the gaming tables, but it is Macau's Portuguese heritage that distinguishes the enclave and will continue long after Macau fulfills its role as a Special Administrative Region as a unique part of China. Over the past few years, the Portuguese administration has carefully and masterfully laid out a tourism plan to preserve the memory of Portugal.
Naturally, it is the Asia Pacific regional market that accounts for the greatest number of visitors to Macau. Most visitors, in actuality three quarters of all arrivals - enter via the Outer Harbor from Hong Kong. In recent years, the enclave has witnessed a dramatic increase in outbound traffic from mainland China through the Border Gate. In fact, in the past year arrivals from mainland China have jumped over 142 percent. Almost half of all arrivals to Macau come for leisure and for a chance to try their hand in the oldest Chinese tradition-gambling.
In Addition, Portuguese will be retained as an official language in Macau beyond the year 1999. Apart from ensuring the territory's unique identity, the importance of retaining Portuguese can be seen particularly among the Macanese people, those ethnically mixed members of Macau's melting pot. The Macanese have always tended to identify themselves culturally as Portuguese; while they are literate in Portuguese, they speak Cantonese in daily life.
This is a spectacular architectural tour-de-force with its wing-like roof soaring skyward. The center just opened its doors a few months ago. A costly, but welcome, addition to an array of structures the Portuguese are leaving behind, the building presently has on loan a collection of Portuguese treasures, which includes old world silver, jewelry, historic paintings and more. The facility also includes a 1,200 seat auditorium.
The world-class resort is being built on 15,176 square meters of ocean front reclaimed land adjacent to the hotel property, and will offer a landscaped garden environment for hotel guests, while providing full Health Club and Spa services and facilities.