Viral photograph has netizens thinking alien invasion

A photograph of a street in Macau has gone viral after netizens said that the Grand Lisboa casino-hotel seen in the background looked like an alien spacecraft.

The photograph, taken by Hong Kong-based Paul Tsui, appears to have been captured on Rua Nova a Guia, near Jardim de São Francisco in downtown Macau.

It shows rows of apartment buildings, balconies and power lines and – in the background – the giant golden building that has become one of Macau’s most famous landmarks since its construction a decade ago.

Titled “The Invasion”, the photograph was submitted to National Geographic’s ‘Your Shot’ online photography community. It was retweeted more than 26,000 times with many netizens remarking that the scene looked as if it had been pulled straight out of a dystopian science-fiction movie.

“I was quite amazed that this photo raised so much interest on the net, particularly in the U.S. and Japan,” Tsui told Australian-based news and entertainment website news.com.au. “For most, they were attracted by the cyberpunk and surreal feel. Some debated whether it [was] a photoshopped image.”

The photographer also said that the alien invasion theme was not deliberate.

“The spot of this photo was not in my original plan. It was just a coincidence that the street was next to the hotel where I was residing,” he explained. “I took quite a number of [photographs] from different angles and distances from the street, and I liked this the most. It was captured using a tele [sic] lens to create that special effect of an alien ship invading the place.”