Whilst many of us were away on our summer breaks, a rather important milestone was achieved in Macau – on July 15, the Historic Centre of Macau celebrated the 10th anniversary of its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage location.
Being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as having Outstanding Universal Value is a pretty big deal for Macau. It makes us so much more than just a gambling town.
Back in 2005 I remember joining in a number of celebratory events, enthusiastically attended by the then-Chief Executive and most of his leadership team who were justifiably proud of the achievement.
Our inscription covers a collection of over 20 principal buildings and urban spaces representing the integration of Portuguese and Chinese elements along the city’s primary urban route, Rua Direita, from the ancient Chinese harbour in the south to the old Christian city in the north.
Some of these sites, but by no means all include the 15th-century A-Ma Temple, the neoclassical Moorish Barracks (1874), Lilau Square, Mandarin’s House, St Augustine’s Square (1591), the Dom Pedro V Theatre (1860), the Baroque St Joseph’s Seminary Building and Church, Leal Senado Square with the Leal Senado Building, St Dominic’s Square with St Dominic’s Church (1587), the old Chinese bazaar area, the Sam Kai Vui Kun Temple, Mount Fortress, Camões Garden, the Protestant Cemetery, Guia Fortress and Lighthouse (1885), and of course the Ruins of St Paul’s and Na Tcha Temple.
Many Macau CLOSER readers will likely be Macau residents, and isn’t it true that we often see less of our own hometowns than the tourists do? We often don’t know what’s going on under our very noses. Since the summer, the Cultural Affairs Bureau has been organizing a number of programmed activities to mark the 10th anniversary including several new historic and cultural facilities in operation, exhibitions, a seminar and new publications, cultural performances, and highlighted activities, all of which are open to the public and have been scheduled between now and the end of the year.
Of particular note is an exhibition displaying reproductions of several dozen Macau-related historical maps collected by world libraries that will be shown next month at the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library, the revitalized, soon to open Patane Night Watch House and The Cinematheque Passion, featuring an art cinema and a film documentation room.
With the cooler, less humid months now upon us, what better time to explore and check these out.