MGTO backs National Geography documentary

The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has confirmed its support for the National Geographic program featuring Macau’s heritage.
MGTO stated that it supports the program, which “[echoes] the success” of the inclusion of Macau’s historic center listing on the UNESCO
World Heritage list 10 years ago.
MGTO added that the program would celebrate the city’s tangible and intangible heritage.
The Times reported on Tuesday that a documentary on Macau’s architectural, urban, and cultural heritage is due to be aired on National Geographic in December.
The documentary crew, including host Julian Davison, travelled to the territory this month to interview experts and local personalities.
These included the president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) Ung Vai Meng, heritage conservator Ip Kin Hong, and the archeologists Irene Lou and Mariana Pinto Leitão Pereira. Other interviewees included architect Carlos Marreiros, as reported by the Times, as well as Miguel Senna Fernandes and Filomeno Jorge.
MGTO said it recommended that the team investigate the idea of intangible cultural heritage through Macau hallmarks such as Chinese herbal tea, woodcrafts, Cantonese opera, Portuguese folk music, and the Lion Dance.
Architect Carlos Marreiros told the Times, “regarding heritage, I said there’s a need to strike a balance, by implementing daring policies so heritage could be vitally preserved.”
He added that there are other heritage sites beyond Macau’s historic center that are worthy of being listed.
The documentary’s host, Julian Davison, is a freelance writer and editor who grew up in both Singapore and Malaysia. He has also written about Singaporean architecture.
The Macau government organized a series of activities over the past months to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Macau’s historic center being listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage site. “The historic center of Macau provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West,” the United Nations body states on its website.  CP