10 years after UNESCO listing | IC organizes guided visits to heritage sites

The D. Pedro V theatre

Before attending university, Liu Ziliang wants “to know the world,” and hence decided to join yesterday’s guided visit of Macau’s cultural heritage, which he believes differs from Chinese heritage due to the Portuguese influence.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) is running a series of guided visits through Macau’s cultural heritage sites in partnership with a travel agency. The tours come as part of a program to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the city’s main monuments being listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
A total of 65 tourists, including mainly mainland Chinese and 20 people of other nationalities, yesterday took part in a guided visit to the A-Ma Temple, Mandarin’s House, Lilau Square, the church and seminary of St Joseph, as well as to the D. Pedro V theatre.
At the theatre, Leong In Fan, a representative of IC’s cultural heritage department explained, “This was a very important place for the Portuguese community.”
The first western-style theater in China yesterday accommodated an already tired group of tourists, who took a chance to enjoy a 20-minute air conditioning break while taking photos of the theater. The first cabaret show in Asia, the “Crazy Paris Show,” was staged in one of the theater’s rooms.
Liu Ziliang, 17, said that he was pleased with the visit, which allowed him to learn about “the most ancient and most beautiful part of Macau.” He has only been to the region once before, and that was to go shopping with his family.
Liu added that Macau is the first city that he has visited after completing his university admission exams. “I finished my exams and I want to know the world. So this opportunity came up and I took the chance to come here,” he said.
He acknowledged that, of all Macau’s monuments that are listed as UNESCO World Heritage, the St Joseph’s church impressed him the most. Liu added that he believes these monuments and cultural sites have provided Macau with its own “style,” influenced by the Portuguese culture, making Macau a different city to those in mainland China.
Candy Kong, responsible for organizing the tenth anniversary visit, said, “Tourists were quite surprised to know that such a small place can accommodate so many cultural heritage [sites]. Everything seems new because of the mix between the western and eastern cultures, which they find very interesting.”
Wu Keng Kuong, head of the travel agency organizing the guided visits in partnership with IC, stressed that tourists do not come to Macau just for shopping.
“A great percentage of tourists want to shop, but a large part also want to visit Macau’s cultural heritage sites. Foreign tourists appreciate more sites of eastern cultural heritage, while the Chinese prefer the western-­style heritage,” he stated.  MDT/Lusa