Behind Macau's Razzle Dazzle
By Mikee dela Cruz
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MACAU GOVERNMENT TOURIST OFFICE
PUBLISHED: JANUARY 2009

BEAUTY IN SMALL PACKAGES. Macau SAR may be small, but it has numerous attractions waiting to be discovered.

TOO MANY TO MENTION. From Senado Leal (top photo) to the fortress (second from top) and the antiquated temples, Macau's many attractions honor the place's rich past.

At least in the whole of Asia, Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) IS gambling.  Located at the mouth of Pearl River, Macau SAR is not called the Las Vegas of Asia for nothing, after all, with 22 (as of the last count) casinos in only 28.2 square kilometer of land area – less than one-sixth the size of Washington, and has no arable land – that has only 453,125 people (2006 estimate).

No wonder that the Macanese is easily dwarfed by the number of tourists visiting their shores that, as of 2005, reached 18.7 million, which, in itself, is dwarfed by the 7.8 million tourists in 1993 – many of them frequenting Macau SAR for, obviously, both high stake and recreational gambling.

But, says Narzalina Lim, general manager of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), the stereotype actually doesn’t hold true now.  At least not completely.  “In the beginning, it was quite difficult to sell Macau SAR in the Philippines, for example, mainly because of the image of the country (as Asia’s gambling haven).  But now it’s easier, much, much easier, since it has been repackaged as a (venue for) numerous things – cultural center, sports center, et cetera.”

And if the growing number of tourists to this land “discovered” by the Portuguese in the early 1500s is to be the basis, then Lim may be on to something.  After all, in 2005, 18,711,187 visitors went to Macau SAR, up 12.23% from the number registered in 2004.  Filipinos themselves are among those whose numbers have steadily grown, with the 76,878 Filipinos visiting the country in 2004 rising by 22.11% to 93,878 in 2005.  The growth is even bigger when compared to the records of earlier days, when the number of Filipinos who visited Macau SAR, say in 2000, was as low as 42,111.

“The place has moved beyond gaming.  We have events to cater to various needs,” Lim says.  “And this makes people (wanting to discover Macau SAR, in the first place), and then keep on coming back.”

Of course, the attractions of this “piece of Europe in the heart of Asia,” as some are inclined to describe Macau SAR, abound.

For one, for the historical, there are the Senado Square (also a shopping haven), which was built – and still serves as – Macau SAR’surban center; the Ruins of St. Paul, a façade of what was originally the Church of the Mater Dei that was built in 1602 to 1640; the Mountain Fortress, built between 1617 to 1626 as a lookout for invaders; the Dom Pedro V Theatre, which was built in 1860 as the first western-style theater in China; and Guia Fortress, originally established by Clarist nuns between 1622 to 1638, which is considered among the best representations of Macau SAR’s “maritime, military and missionary past.”

Secondly, for the architecture fanatics, among the attractions are the neo-classical Leal Senado, which was originally built in 1784 as Macau SAR’s first municipal chamber; and the Old City Walls, which were built as early as 1569, incorporating Portuguese techniques with materials, particularly a solid compound called chunambo, a mixture of clay, soil, sand, rice straw, crushed rocks, and oyster shells compacted in successive layers.

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