by Xinhua author Wang Xiaopeng
MACAO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) — Fang Fan, a resident of Guangzhou, had a transparent purpose for her latest journey to Macao: to get pleasure from a front-row seat at a efficiency by U.S. musical icon Herbie Hancock.
For showgoers like Fang, Macao — only a two-hour drive south of Guangzhou — has emerged as a vibrant vacation spot the place star-chasing goals can come true. With an increasing array of high-quality performances and simpler entry to tickets in comparison with mainland metropolises, the town is quickly rising in cultural enchantment.
As a significant commerce port underneath Portuguese occupation for hundreds of years, Macao returned to the motherland, China, on Dec. 20, 1999, when the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) was established.
Over the previous 25 years, Macao has remodeled right into a multifaceted hub, evolving past its moniker because the “Las Vegas of the East.” It now seeks to determine itself as a worldwide middle for tourism and leisure, whereas additionally diversifying into industries corresponding to tradition and sport.
CITY OF PERFORMING ARTS
Years in the past, Macao’s cultural panorama was vastly totally different. Few folks thought of touring there for dwell live shows. Wu Zhiliang, president of the Board of Directors of the Macao Foundation and a resident of the town for almost 40 years, recalled a time when even free performances failed to attract native audiences.
Since its return to the motherland, nonetheless, Macao has developed right into a vacation spot able to attracting world-class artists corresponding to Spanish tenor Placido Domingo and Herbie Hancock.
This transformation has been fueled by the SAR’s rising prosperity underneath the “one country, two systems” coverage — a singular association that enables it to keep up its capitalist system and lifestyle inside socialist China. By 2023, Macao’s per capita GDP had greater than quadrupled in comparison with 1999, reaching almost 70,000 U.S. {dollars}.
Modern venues just like the Macao Cultural Center have performed a pivotal function in internet hosting performances, whereas the SAR has additionally leveraged its wealthy cultural heritage. In October 2024, famend Chinese-American pipa virtuoso Wu Man carried out on the Dom Pedro V Theater, the primary Western-style theater in-built China in 1860.
“The historic venue blends beautifully with the pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument,” Wu Man informed Xinhua. “The atmosphere was excellent, and I could feel the audience’s enthusiasm for the captivating sounds and melodies.”
Major leisure corporations are additionally recognizing Macao’s potential. On Dec. 7, 2024, the Galaxy Arena hosted the iQIYI Scream Night, a star-studded occasion celebrating prime leisure achievements. This marked the second consecutive yr the main on-line leisure platform selected Macao for its annual extravaganza. According to iQIYI, the occasion drew tons of of business stars, 1000’s of dwell spectators, and tons of of hundreds of thousands of on-line viewers.
The metropolis’s rising popularity as a cultural hub is obvious in its statistics. The SAR’s 2023 Yearbook of Statistics reported over 55,000 public performances and cultural exhibitions held that yr, a big improve from roughly 38,000 in 2013.
Generation Z artist Kun Wangtou, an rising determine within the native artwork scene, stated exhibitions at the moment are a relentless presence within the metropolis.
Despite his youth, Kun’s popularity has saved him busy touring between Macao and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Zhuhai. His works are presently being showcased in each places, the place he typically supplies private introductions for guests.
Kun, who initially labored as a photographer after incomes his bachelor’s diploma in Boston, determined to return to his hometown to deal with his artwork. “I am deeply indebted to my hometown for the unwavering support it has given me,” he stated.
APPEAL OF HIGHER LEARNING
Yanick De Almeida, a freshman on the University of Macao (UM), selected this metropolis for its popularity as a relaxed and safe place to dwell. When the younger Angolan arrived, he was pleasantly stunned by what he discovered.
“I initially thought Macao would be like the Chinese mainland, where everyone speaks Putonghua,” Almeida stated. “But I quickly discovered that many of my fellow students here also speak Portuguese or English.”
For Sofia Costa, an trade scholar from the University of Porto in Portugal, learning in Macao has been a transformative journey of non-public {and professional} progress. Currently learning supramolecular chemistry and conventional Chinese medication (TCM) at UM, she described studying TCM as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“Immersing myself in Chinese medicine has been a fascinating experience,” Sofia stated. “I’m confident that the knowledge I gain here will be invaluable throughout my career.”
Data from UM exhibits that the college presently hosts greater than 350 worldwide college students from about 50 international locations and areas, together with the United States and Japan, marking a 360 % improve in comparison with a decade in the past.
UM is certainly one of 10 greater schooling establishments in Macao, a metropolis with a inhabitants of about 690,000. Among them, the Macao University of Science and Technology (MUST) stands out as a first-rate instance of the SAR’s rising enchantment as a tutorial vacation spot.
Founded in 2000, MUST has quickly developed into the biggest multi-disciplinary college in Macao, enrolling roughly 23,000 college students, 94 % of whom come from outdoors the SAR.
Over the previous 25 years, Macao’s educational popularity has grown considerably. As the historic web site of St. Paul’s College — the primary college within the Far East — Macao continues to construct on its legacy of upper schooling. Today, UM ranks among the many prime 250 universities globally, underscoring the SAR’s dedication to educational excellence.
ALLURE OF DIVERSE CULTURES
Both Almeida and Costa have been impressed by Macao’s cultural range. “I’ve met people from various cultural backgrounds, which was a delightful surprise,” Almeida stated. “There’s always someone ready to help, which has made my time here truly enjoyable.”
As a historic metropolis the place Chinese and Western cultures meet, Macao shows a singular allure that belongs to a tradition typical of Southern China, but with a particular European contact.
Since the mid-Sixteenth century, Macao has served as a significant bridge that has facilitated the trade of data between East and West, stated Wu Zhiliang, who has spent many years learning the town’s historical past and tradition.
The historic middle of Macao, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands as a testomony to one of many earliest and most enduring encounters between China and the West.
This wealthy cultural synthesis is embodied by landmarks just like the Ruins of St. Paul’s, whose facade integrates Eastern parts, corresponding to Chinese inscriptions and lion motifs, into its design. Nearby, the Na Tcha Temple — a tribute to the legendary determine Ne Zha, a demon-slaying hero depicted within the Sixteenth-century Chinese traditional “Journey to the West” — underscores the harmonious coexistence of Eastern and Western traditions.
Macao’s cultural attract extends past its iconic church buildings and temples. “Here, civilizations and cultures don’t clash but coexist and understand one another, reflecting the traditional Chinese ideal of harmony in diversity,” Wu defined.
This mix is maybe most evident in Macao’s culinary tapestry. Over the centuries, the town has preserved the cuisines of various nations whereas crafting new flavors via artistic fusion. Macanese delicacies, one of many world’s first fusion meals, marries Chinese and Portuguese cooking methods and components. It additionally incorporates spices and seasonings from areas alongside the traditional Maritime Silk Road, corresponding to curry and coconut milk, creating dishes with a wealthy historic and cultural depth.
Pedro Miguel Manhao Sou, a neighborhood resident whose mom runs a restaurant specializing in Macanese delicacies, recalled his childhood as being crammed with a colourful mixture of cultures and flavors.
“My grandfather used to run a noodle stall, and after school, we’d pick our favorite side dishes there. In the evenings, we’d enjoy the Macanese dishes my mother cooked at home. This was our life,” he stated. “My family celebrates both the Spring Festival and Christmas.”
Today, Macao is without doubt one of the most secure and wealthiest locations on the earth, famend for its Michelin-starred eating places, well-known Portuguese egg tarts, and vibrant avenue meals stalls. Its wealthy culinary heritage has not solely attracted meals lovers from across the globe but additionally earned worldwide recognition.
In 2017, Macao was named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. More not too long ago, in June 2024, the town was designated a Culture City of East Asia as a part of a program initiated by China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to advertise cultural trade and collaboration.
With its rising world popularity, Macao has seen a surge in guests. By December 7, 2024, the town had welcomed over 32 million vacationers — a 26 % improve in comparison with the identical interval final yr, in line with official information.
Jose Chan Rodrigues, a Macao resident with Portuguese ancestry, views the town as a bridge that fosters a deeper understanding of China. As certainly one of Macao’s cultural ambassadors, Rodrigues highlights the town’s distinctive enchantment: Macao presents vacationers almost the whole lot they search, from cultural mix to culinary expertise, all wrapped in a coastal metropolis of 33 sq. kilometers.
“That,” he added, “is the allure of Macao for the world.”