Thursday, September 30, 2004
the Madonna makes her home among the brown race
Sun.Star Cebu - Yena Tam Ngamin
Yena Tam Ngamin
After rejection for being too brown, the Madonna makes her home among the brown race. Jenara Regis Newman traces this great irony.
That’s Ibanag for Mother To Us All. It is the name of a coffee table book about the miraculous Brown Madonna of the Cagayan River Valley. The Madonna, whose other title is Our Lady of the Rosary, and which has been renamed Our Lady of Piat, came to the Philippines when the Dominicans were expelled from Macau by the Portuguese. In Manila, the statue was deemed too brown; the preference was for statues with ivory heads.
Feasting in Macau
Current commercial fishing news & information - Alaska Fisherman's JOURNAL:
"Feasting in Macau
Source: Sunday Mail; Kuala Lumpur
Publication date: 2004-09-26
ALTHOUGH better known for being a gamblers' paradise, Macau left a lasting memory on VIJAYA KASINATHAN's tastebuds
I'm not the adventurous kind where food is concerned. I'm also a fussy eater and quite conservative, in fact, down right boring when ordering meals. My friends pre-empt me all the time and do the ordering even before I can get my hands on the menu. I'm very predictable, they say.
I must admit that when I was in Macau, I had visions of pork, duck and all forms of edible carnivores making its way to the table. What greeted me instead were scrumptious meals that left me thinking that I should call up some of my food-critic friends to recommend to them some restaurants that offer good Chinese and Portuguese meals.
Macau offers that unique blend of Chinese, Portuguese, Italian, Brazillian and Macanese cuisines.
I had a chance to sample some of these and it has been a culinary awakening.
I had the best Chinese meal in my life; first-class Portuguese desserts and mouth-watering Macanese repast.
"
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
MACAU RESOURCES LINKS
http://www.hackwriters.com/Macau.htm
http://www.connectedglobe.com/thaiairnews/newsletter10.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Macau
http://www.manivestasia.com/MA_News.htm
http://www.manivestasia.com/Library/Seminar/MASEM200304HKE-YF.doc
http://www.princeton.edu/~classbib/
http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/
http://www.macaudata.com/VLeng/index.html
http://www.culture-asef.org/english/asia/chn/easia/prt/
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/china.html#city.html
http://goasia.about.com/sitesearch.htm?
terms=macau&SUName=goasia&TopNode=21461&type=1
http://www.usfca.edu/library/thacher/darkmadonna/index.html
http://users.erols.com/arbs/links.html
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AsianPages/A-East-Lists.html
http://www.thingsasian.com/
http://www.google.com/search?num=20&hl=en&lr=&ie=UT
-8&newwindow=1&q=%2Bmacau+%2Breference&btnG=Search
http://www.exploitz.com/data/consul/macau.html
To See Macao’s History in the Old Maps
source: IACM - MACAU GOV WEBSITE
Chan Vai Hang
President of Macao’s History Institute
At the end of the 15th century, Portuguese sailed to the Orient and established regular navigation lines connecting the Atlantic with the Indian Ocean. In the 16th century, they arrived in the Pacific Ocean and the Far East, which thereby revealed the prelude to the modern communications with the oriental civilization.
“It was a great historical process (…) a traffic used for colonisation and commerce led to culture communications. When Colombo first sailed, no one could imagine what the world history would be like afterwards. At that time, Western Europe had walked out of the middle Ages, and a new culture characterised by humanism and rationalism was growing; as a new system, capitalism was developing and showing its force to the world along with the expansion of colonialism. While this civilisation was totally unrelated with that of Confucianism-advocating Chinese politics, culture and ethics. The 16th century heralded the inevitability of the meeting of oriental and occidental civilisations, for the history had been preparing for the event. Several navigation (such as the Chinese Zheng He’s, the Europeans Colombo’s, Magallance’s, Gama’s, etc) gave an impetus beyond all doubt to the movement of the collision points between the two civilizations.”1
During the period of the convergence of modern oriental and occidental civilisations, various natural sciences departed from natural philosophy and maintained independence. The 19th century was the time when a new geography replaced the western classical one. Geography, as a branch of study, covering the fields of humanism and natural science, exercised more and more deep-going influences over the process of human civilisation.
All these mentioned above could be proved by the maps of Macao from the 18th century to the 20th century, collected by Mr. Tam Siu Cheong, a map collector of Hong Kong.
For example, the illustration (Nº5) of Entering Macao Along the Sea Route, published in England in 1738, was drawn delicately to show how to arrive in KANTAN (Guangzhong) through MA-KAU (Macao) and Humen along the waterway, by marking the depth of water of every route, which reflected the contemporary mature mapping and surveying techniques of the West.
On the left of this chart, there is a concise map of Guangzhou, on which the Pearl River and the Guangzhou City were clearly marked out.
Another illustration about Macao CARTE SE L’ENTRE DE MACAO (Nº11-3) is a chart of waterway, drawn by a Frenchman in the 18th century. Since Macao was the unique city opening to the outside world, its conditions were described in detail on the map, especially that of the ancient waterway, Shizimen (Crossdoor) in the south of the Peninsula of Macao. As the waterway was the only way for the western and eastern merchant ships to moor and get out and into Macao, its depth of water was marked more detailed than that of the Peninsula. This chart is a practical navigation map.
The early maps of Macao published by the West were tinted with remarkably practical flavour.
Another illustration of the same book (Nº11-1) PLAN DE LA VILLE DE MACAO shows thoroughly the conditions of the Peninsula of Macao at the end of the 18th century: Portuguese lived in the Peninsula from the foot of Collin de Penha in the south to the city gate of Rua do Campo in the north, where were thickly dotted with houses. While the region to the south of Colina da Penha including Colina de Barra was still in a natural state, with criss-crossed fields and villages. The area to the north of the city gate of Rua do Campo was mainly inhabited by Chinese, and in its centre was pieces of farmland. Ilha Verde and ancient Istmo Ferreira do Amaral became important symbols to identify the boundary of the city, which corresponded to the contemporary annals: “the Mount of Macao lies 120 miles to the east of the Southeast of Macao, opposite to the city in the east, surrounded in the south by the tidewater of Shizimen, facing Hengqin in the west and next to the mount of Qingzhou in the north.”2
The map TOWN AND HARBOUR OF MACAO (Nº24) drawn by hand by a Englishman in 1867 is also about the Peninsula of Macao, but there are some comparatively notable changes: one is the disappearance of the city wall of Rua do Campo, demolished by Portuguese; the other refers to the expansion of the city towards the north under the governance of Portuguese, which happened after the Event of Ferreira do Amaral in 1849: Portuguese refused to pay to Xiangshan County the land rent that had been collected for more than 270 years, what’s more, they pulled down the city wall in order to enlarge the city and to expand towards the north.
Another map of the Peninsula of Macao is the illustration THE PORTUGUESE SETTLEMENT MACAO (Nº27) published in 1849. On the left upper corner is written “Established in 1557”, but what this map actually shows is that the Portuguese seized villages, destroyed fields and built roads in the north after they forcibly occupied the Peninsula: apart from the streets thoroughly marked on the map, the old churches like the St. Francisco Church, the Ruins of St. Paul, the position of the old fort set up in the Ming Dynasty and the outward appearance of the Governor’s Mansion Santa Sancha were also drawn on it. Even the fort of Colina de Mong Ha and Flora Palace constructed in the late Qing Dynasty were marked, too. Carefully observing this map, one can find that Estrada de Adolfo de Loureiro was built, that the such streets as Estrada do Coelho do Amaral, Estrada da Bela Vista e Istmo Ferreira do Amaral had took shapes and was afforested with trees. It is an important map reflecting the actual conditions of Macao in the late Qing Dynasty.
“In the 16th century, some foreigners that Chinese never knew appeared from time to time in the southern coast land of China and came in unequal numbers every time and more and more frequently. They were Europeans who came to China following Marco Polo.” “The Ming Dynasty knew nothing about what changes had happened in the remote West. West Europe had stepped in modern times under the impetus given by the Renaissance, religious reform and the experimental science. The navigational career prospered abruptly along with geographical discoveries and connected the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.”3
The westerners put their modern scientific techniques to use to record and study the East. “In modern science, geography is a branch of study with multifarious and disorder contents. Until the 19th century, the modern geography gradually cast off the state of semi-science and semi-literature, began to absorb the achievements of modern science and formed a set of working patterns of its own.”4 In this exhibition, there also are CHINESISCHE KUSTE (Nº17) drawn by a German in 1834, Sea Chart of Guangdong and the Delta of the Pearl River (Nº18) in 1840, Detailed Military Chart of the Delta of the Pearl River (Nº22) in 1844, Chart of Macao and Nearby Regions (Nº10) drawn by a Englishman in 1780, Chart of the Distribution of Guangzhou and the Delta of the Pearl River (Nº21) in 1844, Map of the Relations Among Guangzhou, Macao and the Delta (Nº25) in 1880, Chart of Nearby Rivers of Guangzhou (Nº8) drawn by a Frenchman in 1760, etc.. All these old maps in the categories of traffic, military field, or tourism, mirror the cognition and the degree of study of modern western surveyors towards the nature and geographical style and features of the Orient, and their orderly description and explanations towards various phenomena of the objects of study as well.
In this exhibition, a batch of old maps published in China is also exhibited, which there is Map of Guangdong published in the 5th year of Tongzhi reign, Qing Dynasty (in 1866). This set of maps covered the regions like Xiangshan, Xinning, Xinhui, Shunde, Heshan, etc., and Macao was drawn on the 11th volume Map of Xiangshan, where some places of Macao like Porta do Cerco, Ilha Verde, Jitou, Taipa, Jiu’ao, Guoluhua and Shizimen were marked. In spite of the long history of mapping in China and the long tradition of geographical research, the comparatively closed-door geographical position (China lies in the east part of the Asian continent, facing the Pacific in the east, with deserts in the Northwest and forests and valleys in the Southwest.) affected Chinese geographical opinions: “the Heaven is above, the earth is below, China lies in the middle. Beside the centre are four foreign parts. They are outside while China is inside.”5
When modern western geography had developed rapidly, the Chinese geography was still in its original level. Though the Jesuit Matteaus Ricci who came to China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and his followers like Julius Aleni, Didacus de Pantojoa, Nicolaus Longobardi, Ferdinand Verbiest, took new western geographical knowledge to China, the evolution of Chinese space-geographical concept was rather slow and the ideology of Round Heaven and Square Earth was deep-rooted as before, which can be proved by the Map of Guangdong. As a modern famous geographic Tan Qixiang points: “the study of geography of the Qing Dynasty is but an old summary, and it cannot become a new beginning.”6
Macao is a city with particular historical experiences where oriental and occidental civilizations coexist; modern occidental civilization enters the Orient and exerts far-reaching influences. What the achievements in mapping reflect is not simply the superiority or inferiority in techniques, but the degrees of human’s pursuit of geographical environments and their changing laws, as well as those of human’s cognition towards nature and themselves. These exhibited maps in modern or ancient times, in China or elsewhere, undoubtedly provide a new angle for us to study and know about Macao’s history.
Notes:
1. Chen Lemin, Chronology of Portuguese Communications with China in the 16th Century, Liaoning Educational Publishing House, 2000, p.34.
2. Qianlong reins, The Annals of Xiangshan County, Vol. I, Mountain.
3. Chen Yuemin, Chronology of Portuguese Communications with China in the 16th Century, Liaoning Educational Publishing House, 2000, p.1.
4. Zou Zhenhua, Western Geography of the Late Qing Dynasty in China. Shanghai Ancient-Books Publishing House, 2000, p.34.
5. Shi Jie, About China, in Collected Works of Mr. Shi, Chinese
Publishing House, 1984, Page 116. Quoted from a secondary source Western Geography of the Late Qing Dynasty in China, p.40.
6. Tan Qixiang, Corpus of the Works on Geography of the Qing Dynasty, Volume 1, Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, and edition in 1986, Page 2. Quoted from a secondary source Western Geography of the Late Qing Dynasty in China, p.309.
Chan Vai Hang
President of Macao’s History Institute
At the end of the 15th century, Portuguese sailed to the Orient and established regular navigation lines connecting the Atlantic with the Indian Ocean. In the 16th century, they arrived in the Pacific Ocean and the Far East, which thereby revealed the prelude to the modern communications with the oriental civilization.
“It was a great historical process (…) a traffic used for colonisation and commerce led to culture communications. When Colombo first sailed, no one could imagine what the world history would be like afterwards. At that time, Western Europe had walked out of the middle Ages, and a new culture characterised by humanism and rationalism was growing; as a new system, capitalism was developing and showing its force to the world along with the expansion of colonialism. While this civilisation was totally unrelated with that of Confucianism-advocating Chinese politics, culture and ethics. The 16th century heralded the inevitability of the meeting of oriental and occidental civilisations, for the history had been preparing for the event. Several navigation (such as the Chinese Zheng He’s, the Europeans Colombo’s, Magallance’s, Gama’s, etc) gave an impetus beyond all doubt to the movement of the collision points between the two civilizations.”1
During the period of the convergence of modern oriental and occidental civilisations, various natural sciences departed from natural philosophy and maintained independence. The 19th century was the time when a new geography replaced the western classical one. Geography, as a branch of study, covering the fields of humanism and natural science, exercised more and more deep-going influences over the process of human civilisation.
All these mentioned above could be proved by the maps of Macao from the 18th century to the 20th century, collected by Mr. Tam Siu Cheong, a map collector of Hong Kong.
For example, the illustration (Nº5) of Entering Macao Along the Sea Route, published in England in 1738, was drawn delicately to show how to arrive in KANTAN (Guangzhong) through MA-KAU (Macao) and Humen along the waterway, by marking the depth of water of every route, which reflected the contemporary mature mapping and surveying techniques of the West.
On the left of this chart, there is a concise map of Guangzhou, on which the Pearl River and the Guangzhou City were clearly marked out.
Another illustration about Macao CARTE SE L’ENTRE DE MACAO (Nº11-3) is a chart of waterway, drawn by a Frenchman in the 18th century. Since Macao was the unique city opening to the outside world, its conditions were described in detail on the map, especially that of the ancient waterway, Shizimen (Crossdoor) in the south of the Peninsula of Macao. As the waterway was the only way for the western and eastern merchant ships to moor and get out and into Macao, its depth of water was marked more detailed than that of the Peninsula. This chart is a practical navigation map.
The early maps of Macao published by the West were tinted with remarkably practical flavour.
Another illustration of the same book (Nº11-1) PLAN DE LA VILLE DE MACAO shows thoroughly the conditions of the Peninsula of Macao at the end of the 18th century: Portuguese lived in the Peninsula from the foot of Collin de Penha in the south to the city gate of Rua do Campo in the north, where were thickly dotted with houses. While the region to the south of Colina da Penha including Colina de Barra was still in a natural state, with criss-crossed fields and villages. The area to the north of the city gate of Rua do Campo was mainly inhabited by Chinese, and in its centre was pieces of farmland. Ilha Verde and ancient Istmo Ferreira do Amaral became important symbols to identify the boundary of the city, which corresponded to the contemporary annals: “the Mount of Macao lies 120 miles to the east of the Southeast of Macao, opposite to the city in the east, surrounded in the south by the tidewater of Shizimen, facing Hengqin in the west and next to the mount of Qingzhou in the north.”2
The map TOWN AND HARBOUR OF MACAO (Nº24) drawn by hand by a Englishman in 1867 is also about the Peninsula of Macao, but there are some comparatively notable changes: one is the disappearance of the city wall of Rua do Campo, demolished by Portuguese; the other refers to the expansion of the city towards the north under the governance of Portuguese, which happened after the Event of Ferreira do Amaral in 1849: Portuguese refused to pay to Xiangshan County the land rent that had been collected for more than 270 years, what’s more, they pulled down the city wall in order to enlarge the city and to expand towards the north.
Another map of the Peninsula of Macao is the illustration THE PORTUGUESE SETTLEMENT MACAO (Nº27) published in 1849. On the left upper corner is written “Established in 1557”, but what this map actually shows is that the Portuguese seized villages, destroyed fields and built roads in the north after they forcibly occupied the Peninsula: apart from the streets thoroughly marked on the map, the old churches like the St. Francisco Church, the Ruins of St. Paul, the position of the old fort set up in the Ming Dynasty and the outward appearance of the Governor’s Mansion Santa Sancha were also drawn on it. Even the fort of Colina de Mong Ha and Flora Palace constructed in the late Qing Dynasty were marked, too. Carefully observing this map, one can find that Estrada de Adolfo de Loureiro was built, that the such streets as Estrada do Coelho do Amaral, Estrada da Bela Vista e Istmo Ferreira do Amaral had took shapes and was afforested with trees. It is an important map reflecting the actual conditions of Macao in the late Qing Dynasty.
“In the 16th century, some foreigners that Chinese never knew appeared from time to time in the southern coast land of China and came in unequal numbers every time and more and more frequently. They were Europeans who came to China following Marco Polo.” “The Ming Dynasty knew nothing about what changes had happened in the remote West. West Europe had stepped in modern times under the impetus given by the Renaissance, religious reform and the experimental science. The navigational career prospered abruptly along with geographical discoveries and connected the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.”3
The westerners put their modern scientific techniques to use to record and study the East. “In modern science, geography is a branch of study with multifarious and disorder contents. Until the 19th century, the modern geography gradually cast off the state of semi-science and semi-literature, began to absorb the achievements of modern science and formed a set of working patterns of its own.”4 In this exhibition, there also are CHINESISCHE KUSTE (Nº17) drawn by a German in 1834, Sea Chart of Guangdong and the Delta of the Pearl River (Nº18) in 1840, Detailed Military Chart of the Delta of the Pearl River (Nº22) in 1844, Chart of Macao and Nearby Regions (Nº10) drawn by a Englishman in 1780, Chart of the Distribution of Guangzhou and the Delta of the Pearl River (Nº21) in 1844, Map of the Relations Among Guangzhou, Macao and the Delta (Nº25) in 1880, Chart of Nearby Rivers of Guangzhou (Nº8) drawn by a Frenchman in 1760, etc.. All these old maps in the categories of traffic, military field, or tourism, mirror the cognition and the degree of study of modern western surveyors towards the nature and geographical style and features of the Orient, and their orderly description and explanations towards various phenomena of the objects of study as well.
In this exhibition, a batch of old maps published in China is also exhibited, which there is Map of Guangdong published in the 5th year of Tongzhi reign, Qing Dynasty (in 1866). This set of maps covered the regions like Xiangshan, Xinning, Xinhui, Shunde, Heshan, etc., and Macao was drawn on the 11th volume Map of Xiangshan, where some places of Macao like Porta do Cerco, Ilha Verde, Jitou, Taipa, Jiu’ao, Guoluhua and Shizimen were marked. In spite of the long history of mapping in China and the long tradition of geographical research, the comparatively closed-door geographical position (China lies in the east part of the Asian continent, facing the Pacific in the east, with deserts in the Northwest and forests and valleys in the Southwest.) affected Chinese geographical opinions: “the Heaven is above, the earth is below, China lies in the middle. Beside the centre are four foreign parts. They are outside while China is inside.”5
When modern western geography had developed rapidly, the Chinese geography was still in its original level. Though the Jesuit Matteaus Ricci who came to China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and his followers like Julius Aleni, Didacus de Pantojoa, Nicolaus Longobardi, Ferdinand Verbiest, took new western geographical knowledge to China, the evolution of Chinese space-geographical concept was rather slow and the ideology of Round Heaven and Square Earth was deep-rooted as before, which can be proved by the Map of Guangdong. As a modern famous geographic Tan Qixiang points: “the study of geography of the Qing Dynasty is but an old summary, and it cannot become a new beginning.”6
Macao is a city with particular historical experiences where oriental and occidental civilizations coexist; modern occidental civilization enters the Orient and exerts far-reaching influences. What the achievements in mapping reflect is not simply the superiority or inferiority in techniques, but the degrees of human’s pursuit of geographical environments and their changing laws, as well as those of human’s cognition towards nature and themselves. These exhibited maps in modern or ancient times, in China or elsewhere, undoubtedly provide a new angle for us to study and know about Macao’s history.
Notes:
1. Chen Lemin, Chronology of Portuguese Communications with China in the 16th Century, Liaoning Educational Publishing House, 2000, p.34.
2. Qianlong reins, The Annals of Xiangshan County, Vol. I, Mountain.
3. Chen Yuemin, Chronology of Portuguese Communications with China in the 16th Century, Liaoning Educational Publishing House, 2000, p.1.
4. Zou Zhenhua, Western Geography of the Late Qing Dynasty in China. Shanghai Ancient-Books Publishing House, 2000, p.34.
5. Shi Jie, About China, in Collected Works of Mr. Shi, Chinese
Publishing House, 1984, Page 116. Quoted from a secondary source Western Geography of the Late Qing Dynasty in China, p.40.
6. Tan Qixiang, Corpus of the Works on Geography of the Qing Dynasty, Volume 1, Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, and edition in 1986, Page 2. Quoted from a secondary source Western Geography of the Late Qing Dynasty in China, p.309.
Forword from Ma Kam Keong Chief of Recreation and Culture Department of the Provisional Municipal Council of Macao
Forward
Map is a product of human civilisation. It does reflect the changes of a place, sea and even mulberry fields. Antique maps, however, have recorded all these changes more vividly. It was ever said that with a map in hand, one could reach anywhere in the world though. Maps have greatly boosted in the development of commerce and travel business. And despite map of marine channels that have put forward the development of navigation by leaps and bounds, it have made possible for the westerners to bring this business to its summit.
The Provisional Municipal Council of Macao has the honour to host this map exhibition, aiming to learn from the past. All the 56 antique maps on the display have kept a good record of Macao’s ancient geographical features including the location of the streets and roads.
One of them is an English Travel Guidance published in Hong Kong in 1895 with a scene of Macao during that period. And it also has a sketch of Macao’s streets attached. This book begins to introduce Macao’s historical background and the ferry services between Hong Kong, Macao and Guangzhou. Together with some highly detailed information such as the departure time from Hong Kong to Macao, which was at 2:00 pm and the return trip at 8:00 am.
The guidance informed the currency used in Macao at that time, which was the same as in Hong Kong and Guangzhou; a single way ticket was $3 and dinner was charged $1.5. (Including wine). There were 6 ships owned by the “Shipping Company of Hong Kong, Guangzhou & Macao” with connections between Hong Kong, Macao and Guangzhong. A hotel called “Boa Vista” is charged $4 for one-night rent and a hotel named Hing Kee’s Hotel (transliteration) was also in record but the price was not mentioned. The sedan chairs and rickshaws for rent charged 5 cents for a short run, 15 cents for an hour and 80 cents for a one-day or seven-hour service. There were also some boats called Sampanas for rent. The ordinary and large travel boat was charged 15 and 20 cents respectively. While the Hakkas boat was charged 30 cents for a one-hour tour.
It elaborated some places of interests including various spots such as temples, churches and also proposed an interesting suggestion by visiting the fantan hall in Rua dos Jogos. The basic method of this gambling is also introduced in the book. Moreover, this book has given a vivid description of the prosperous streets after sunset, like for example; to visit at the tea works, silk factories, opium-producing factories, opium- smoking halls and tobacco works. Although it is said that this tobacco works was the largest one in South China, tobacco making in the works adopted all handwork in each production link. From these descriptions, the gambling business and industry in Macao were making good progress during that period.
By learning from the past, we believe that Macao will make good achievements in the fresh millennium, thus a good start of a new economic boom.
Great gratitude is to be extended to the map collector of Hong Kong, Mr. Tam Siu Cheong, for all his contribution to this characteristic exhibition by lending his collections generously. Let the audience learn about the historical setting of each map and share the pleasure of collecting maps together with him. Mr. Tam has written an introduction to them while fully engaged. Our sincere thanks are also given to Mr. Chan Vai Hang for his grand article, which guides us to learn more about the modern history of Macao and China through the maps.
Map is a product of human civilisation. It does reflect the changes of a place, sea and even mulberry fields. Antique maps, however, have recorded all these changes more vividly. It was ever said that with a map in hand, one could reach anywhere in the world though. Maps have greatly boosted in the development of commerce and travel business. And despite map of marine channels that have put forward the development of navigation by leaps and bounds, it have made possible for the westerners to bring this business to its summit.
The Provisional Municipal Council of Macao has the honour to host this map exhibition, aiming to learn from the past. All the 56 antique maps on the display have kept a good record of Macao’s ancient geographical features including the location of the streets and roads.
One of them is an English Travel Guidance published in Hong Kong in 1895 with a scene of Macao during that period. And it also has a sketch of Macao’s streets attached. This book begins to introduce Macao’s historical background and the ferry services between Hong Kong, Macao and Guangzhou. Together with some highly detailed information such as the departure time from Hong Kong to Macao, which was at 2:00 pm and the return trip at 8:00 am.
The guidance informed the currency used in Macao at that time, which was the same as in Hong Kong and Guangzhou; a single way ticket was $3 and dinner was charged $1.5. (Including wine). There were 6 ships owned by the “Shipping Company of Hong Kong, Guangzhou & Macao” with connections between Hong Kong, Macao and Guangzhong. A hotel called “Boa Vista” is charged $4 for one-night rent and a hotel named Hing Kee’s Hotel (transliteration) was also in record but the price was not mentioned. The sedan chairs and rickshaws for rent charged 5 cents for a short run, 15 cents for an hour and 80 cents for a one-day or seven-hour service. There were also some boats called Sampanas for rent. The ordinary and large travel boat was charged 15 and 20 cents respectively. While the Hakkas boat was charged 30 cents for a one-hour tour.
It elaborated some places of interests including various spots such as temples, churches and also proposed an interesting suggestion by visiting the fantan hall in Rua dos Jogos. The basic method of this gambling is also introduced in the book. Moreover, this book has given a vivid description of the prosperous streets after sunset, like for example; to visit at the tea works, silk factories, opium-producing factories, opium- smoking halls and tobacco works. Although it is said that this tobacco works was the largest one in South China, tobacco making in the works adopted all handwork in each production link. From these descriptions, the gambling business and industry in Macao were making good progress during that period.
By learning from the past, we believe that Macao will make good achievements in the fresh millennium, thus a good start of a new economic boom.
Great gratitude is to be extended to the map collector of Hong Kong, Mr. Tam Siu Cheong, for all his contribution to this characteristic exhibition by lending his collections generously. Let the audience learn about the historical setting of each map and share the pleasure of collecting maps together with him. Mr. Tam has written an introduction to them while fully engaged. Our sincere thanks are also given to Mr. Chan Vai Hang for his grand article, which guides us to learn more about the modern history of Macao and China through the maps.
Story of the Map
Story of the Map
TAKEN FROM MACAU GOVERNMENT SITE
Eric Choi Chi Hong
Chief of Cultural Action Division of Recreation and Culture Department of the Provisional Municipal Council of Macao
February 2001
Nowadays we use the map the most frequently when travelling, which guides us to a destination when we are in a strange land. However, it is far more than a guide of travellers in terms of its functions and connotation.
A map is made according to certain rules and with designated marks, it is a miniature of the natural and humane phenomena presented on a plane drawing. Modern maps are characterised by its visual, measurability and overview convenience. By measuring a map, one can obtain quantitative data on a fixed location.
The use of maps dates back to 4500 years ago when people began to make original graphic records of their surroundings in different ways. At that time maps were drawn on ceramic wafers, papyrus, copperplates, branches of coconut trees, stone, hides, etc. The oldest maps in existence were those drawn on ceramic wafers by Babylonians in 25th – 23rd centuries B. C.
According to legend, the nine big tripods were cast in the Xia Dynasty (c. 21st – 16th centuries B. C.) on which there were mountains, rivers, woods, animals of different regions. Although there is no material evidence to prove this, it is believable that there were maps showing mountains, rivers, and etc. in the Xia Dynasty or even in an earlier age.
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century B. C.), according to the book “Shangshu – Luohao”, Zhou Gong once gave a map together with the result of divination to the Zhou Cheng Huang (the Emperor) at the time when the Luoyang City was under construction. According to the book “Zhouguan” completed in the Period of Warring States, which mentions the Zhou System, there were official positions such as Dasitu, Zhifang, etc. in charge of different maps.
The oldest map found in China is the “Zhao Yu Map” of Zhongzhan King Wen during the Period of Warring States between the 5th and 13th years of Wen’s rule (c. 323 - 315 B. C.) for the construction plan of the King, the queen and the wives tombs.
Almost at the same time, at the other end of the earth, Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 276 - 194 B. C.), a geographer and astronomer known as the Father of Geography, laid down the basic foundation of mathematical geography. On the basis of the theory of Aristoteles (384 – 322 B. C.) that the earth is a sphere, he went one step further to argue that the earth is a spheroid and worked out its perimeter as 39600 km with a tolerance of less than 200 km. This figure is essential for making a precise map of the world. His map of the world in Volume 3 of his book “Geography” is the first one drawn with the application of graticule, showing comparatively high precision.
Eratosthenes concluded that the Atlantic and the Indian oceans are open into each other after comparing their tides and ebbs. That means people can round Africa and reach the Orient by sea. Believing in this theory, Vasco da Gama (c. 1469 – 1524), and a Portuguese navigator, successfully landed in India by sea in late 15th century, which was the proloque of the great geographic discovery.
In 1973, three maps made of jade were unearthed at the Han dynasty tomb No. 3 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan: Relief Map, Garrison Map and Manor Map which proves that in the Western Han Dynasty (206 – 8 B.C.), the mapping technology in China reached a high standard.
Pei Xiu, who design maps in the Western Jin Dynasty (224 – 227 A. D.), put forward six principles of map-making in the book “Yugong Diyutu Xu” after summing up the experience of his predecessors, laying a theoretical foundation for the making of traditional Chinese maps. The six principles boil down to three factors: scale, direction and distance, which are discussed in modern map cartography. Those principles were the most brilliant exposition to map cartography in ancient China.
The objects unearthed at Mawangdui show that achievements in mapping technology were made at that time or earlier. With a sound technical foundation, the six principles pointed out, for the first time in the history of map cartography, the importance of scale and direction and called for higher precision in map making. Real ancient Chinese maps that have been preserved are very few. According to some limited material, few maps were made with the application of graticule. With the influence of the art of painting, pictograms were still used in maps in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Moreover, the greatest drawback of the traditional Chinese maps was the perception of the earth being a plane instead of sphere. The number and variety of maps were greater in the Ming Dynasty and Western map cartography was introduced during the reign of Wan Li (1573 – 1619), which was still not able to overcome the limitations of the traditional theory of planimetric cartography. Unlike European countries, social demand and cultural traditions contributed to the failure in the development of modern map cartography in China, which is based on large-scale mapping.
It is easy to find that maps were made to serve political and military purposes as mentioned in the books about maps in the Qin Dynasty. In “Guanzi – Ditu”, the first Chinese book about maps, it is said that a commander must study the map first in order to know the location of the mountains, valleys, rivers, lands and hills. The condition of the woods forests lengths, roads and sizes of the towns. The book elaborates the nature of the maps and their relation with military affairs.
In Zhou Dynasty, the territory of the nation was called “bantu” (domain) that means domicile and map (See “Zhouli – Tianguan”). In the book “Hanfeizi – Wudu”, Hanfei (280 – 233 B. C.) compares the map to the territory: if you give out the map, you give out the country. In 227 B. C., Jingke presented a map of Yandukang (today known as the area of Yi Xian, Zhuo Xian and Gu’an in Henan Province) to Qin Shi Huang (the Emperor) and attempted to assassinate him. This event indicates that maps were important to political and military affairs at that time. In the following dynasties, in order to enforce the administration, the central governments required the states to submit their maps with which, they were able to produce an overall map. It is interesting that in Chinese, the word “Tu” (map) means “plot” or “gain” when used as a verb. As it goes in the book “Zhan Guo Ce – Qin Ce Si”, “If the states of Han and Wei surrender, the whole nation can be gained.” It is easy to understand the close relationship between the map and the ambitious politicians.
After the 17th century, European countries attained great social and economic development after undergoing the industrial revolution. In order to explore sea routes for trading and expand their colonies, they needed not only nautical maps but also relief maps to exploit land and mineral resources and serve military purpose. A great number of Chinese maps made by Western countries came into being at that time, which accelerated the cultural exchange between the West and East. These maps that completely changed our views on the world and it is these maps that reflects the high price we paid for our slow response to changes in time.
One has to go higher to see farther. It is generally assumed that one must be at a very high point to overlook the earth when drawing a map. A map made in different times not only recorded people’s knowledge of the world in their respective times but also recorded the moments when they were completed. Browsing among maps of different times is like making a journey in space-time — they are not only guides for travellers but also guides that lead us to a promising future through a road of rapid changes and challenges.
Eric Choi Chi Hong
Chief of Cultural Action Division of Recreation and Culture Department of the Provisional Municipal Council of Macao
February 2001
Nowadays we use the map the most frequently when travelling, which guides us to a destination when we are in a strange land. However, it is far more than a guide of travellers in terms of its functions and connotation.
A map is made according to certain rules and with designated marks, it is a miniature of the natural and humane phenomena presented on a plane drawing. Modern maps are characterised by its visual, measurability and overview convenience. By measuring a map, one can obtain quantitative data on a fixed location.
The use of maps dates back to 4500 years ago when people began to make original graphic records of their surroundings in different ways. At that time maps were drawn on ceramic wafers, papyrus, copperplates, branches of coconut trees, stone, hides, etc. The oldest maps in existence were those drawn on ceramic wafers by Babylonians in 25th – 23rd centuries B. C.
According to legend, the nine big tripods were cast in the Xia Dynasty (c. 21st – 16th centuries B. C.) on which there were mountains, rivers, woods, animals of different regions. Although there is no material evidence to prove this, it is believable that there were maps showing mountains, rivers, and etc. in the Xia Dynasty or even in an earlier age.
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century B. C.), according to the book “Shangshu – Luohao”, Zhou Gong once gave a map together with the result of divination to the Zhou Cheng Huang (the Emperor) at the time when the Luoyang City was under construction. According to the book “Zhouguan” completed in the Period of Warring States, which mentions the Zhou System, there were official positions such as Dasitu, Zhifang, etc. in charge of different maps.
The oldest map found in China is the “Zhao Yu Map” of Zhongzhan King Wen during the Period of Warring States between the 5th and 13th years of Wen’s rule (c. 323 - 315 B. C.) for the construction plan of the King, the queen and the wives tombs.
Almost at the same time, at the other end of the earth, Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 276 - 194 B. C.), a geographer and astronomer known as the Father of Geography, laid down the basic foundation of mathematical geography. On the basis of the theory of Aristoteles (384 – 322 B. C.) that the earth is a sphere, he went one step further to argue that the earth is a spheroid and worked out its perimeter as 39600 km with a tolerance of less than 200 km. This figure is essential for making a precise map of the world. His map of the world in Volume 3 of his book “Geography” is the first one drawn with the application of graticule, showing comparatively high precision.
Eratosthenes concluded that the Atlantic and the Indian oceans are open into each other after comparing their tides and ebbs. That means people can round Africa and reach the Orient by sea. Believing in this theory, Vasco da Gama (c. 1469 – 1524), and a Portuguese navigator, successfully landed in India by sea in late 15th century, which was the proloque of the great geographic discovery.
In 1973, three maps made of jade were unearthed at the Han dynasty tomb No. 3 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan: Relief Map, Garrison Map and Manor Map which proves that in the Western Han Dynasty (206 – 8 B.C.), the mapping technology in China reached a high standard.
Pei Xiu, who design maps in the Western Jin Dynasty (224 – 227 A. D.), put forward six principles of map-making in the book “Yugong Diyutu Xu” after summing up the experience of his predecessors, laying a theoretical foundation for the making of traditional Chinese maps. The six principles boil down to three factors: scale, direction and distance, which are discussed in modern map cartography. Those principles were the most brilliant exposition to map cartography in ancient China.
The objects unearthed at Mawangdui show that achievements in mapping technology were made at that time or earlier. With a sound technical foundation, the six principles pointed out, for the first time in the history of map cartography, the importance of scale and direction and called for higher precision in map making. Real ancient Chinese maps that have been preserved are very few. According to some limited material, few maps were made with the application of graticule. With the influence of the art of painting, pictograms were still used in maps in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Moreover, the greatest drawback of the traditional Chinese maps was the perception of the earth being a plane instead of sphere. The number and variety of maps were greater in the Ming Dynasty and Western map cartography was introduced during the reign of Wan Li (1573 – 1619), which was still not able to overcome the limitations of the traditional theory of planimetric cartography. Unlike European countries, social demand and cultural traditions contributed to the failure in the development of modern map cartography in China, which is based on large-scale mapping.
It is easy to find that maps were made to serve political and military purposes as mentioned in the books about maps in the Qin Dynasty. In “Guanzi – Ditu”, the first Chinese book about maps, it is said that a commander must study the map first in order to know the location of the mountains, valleys, rivers, lands and hills. The condition of the woods forests lengths, roads and sizes of the towns. The book elaborates the nature of the maps and their relation with military affairs.
In Zhou Dynasty, the territory of the nation was called “bantu” (domain) that means domicile and map (See “Zhouli – Tianguan”). In the book “Hanfeizi – Wudu”, Hanfei (280 – 233 B. C.) compares the map to the territory: if you give out the map, you give out the country. In 227 B. C., Jingke presented a map of Yandukang (today known as the area of Yi Xian, Zhuo Xian and Gu’an in Henan Province) to Qin Shi Huang (the Emperor) and attempted to assassinate him. This event indicates that maps were important to political and military affairs at that time. In the following dynasties, in order to enforce the administration, the central governments required the states to submit their maps with which, they were able to produce an overall map. It is interesting that in Chinese, the word “Tu” (map) means “plot” or “gain” when used as a verb. As it goes in the book “Zhan Guo Ce – Qin Ce Si”, “If the states of Han and Wei surrender, the whole nation can be gained.” It is easy to understand the close relationship between the map and the ambitious politicians.
After the 17th century, European countries attained great social and economic development after undergoing the industrial revolution. In order to explore sea routes for trading and expand their colonies, they needed not only nautical maps but also relief maps to exploit land and mineral resources and serve military purpose. A great number of Chinese maps made by Western countries came into being at that time, which accelerated the cultural exchange between the West and East. These maps that completely changed our views on the world and it is these maps that reflects the high price we paid for our slow response to changes in time.
One has to go higher to see farther. It is generally assumed that one must be at a very high point to overlook the earth when drawing a map. A map made in different times not only recorded people’s knowledge of the world in their respective times but also recorded the moments when they were completed. Browsing among maps of different times is like making a journey in space-time — they are not only guides for travellers but also guides that lead us to a promising future through a road of rapid changes and challenges.
F1 Going For A Chinese
Formula One news, fun, results and features from Planet-F1.com: "
Or alternatively have the second Chinese GP at Macau which has a challenging street circuit that former Ligier and McLaren driver Martin Brundle rates as one of the best and far superior in racing terms to Monaco. It has held an F3 event here for many years, indeed it was here that Michael Schumacher first got into his machine bending ways with what some view as a tactical accident with Mika Hakkinen."
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Ola! Macau Guide - Your Online Guide to the Best of Macau
Ola! Macau Guide - Your Online Guide to the Best of Macau: "
Let us be your Macau Guide
Macau, the Monte Carlo of the East. Where else can you appreciate the culture, architecture, cuisine and arts resulting from 400 years of Eastern and Western exchange. Even today, modern Macau offers a unique blend of Chinese and international flavor. For instance, you can stay in the most modern hotel possible but outside the door you are immediately surrounded by 400 year old buildings. In this sense, Macau is truly unique and without match in Asia."
The many faces of Macau
Malay Mail Online
WHEN I told my colleague Meera that I was going to Macau, she said: “Vijaya, don’t bother coming back if you hit the jackpot.” Typical of Meera, given her mercurial sense of humour at times and, with my luck, well... all bets were off. I knew fully well that I would be back to write this article.
To many, Macau is a gambling haven. To Discovery Channel buffs, Macau is more than just its casinos. They know of its Portuguese influence. Then there are those who remember Macau for its raffish atmosphere, complete with warring gangsters.
And for those who don’t know about Macau, it’s a former Portuguese patina made up of two southerly islands – Taipa and Coloane – and a compact peninsula which dangles off Guangdong province on the Chinese mainland into the South China Sea. Hong Kong is just a 65-km swim away.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Painting Philosophy of Peruvian Artist
Painting Philosophy of Peruvian Artist: "Painting Philosophy of Peruvian Artist
By Ernesto Apomayta
Life
I paint with an emphasis on expressing LIFE (the spirit and the soul) which is the expression of my love for the natural world and its creatures. From the heart of my Incan cultural comes my love and respect for nature. I honor my love of nature and man by painting with a balance of rhythm, harmony, and movement. This is the tradition of my people the Incans Indians of Peru, and the Chinese Philosophers which I studied at the Central Institute of Fine Arts of China. Thus, when I paint, the animals have a voice, the spirit of nature speaks, and man travels in harmony with nature and God."
High-priced seafood whets appetites in China - The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA
High-priced seafood whets appetites in China - The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA: "High-priced seafood restaurants, which used to be concentrated in Guangdong, the southernmost province bordering Hong Kong, have proliferated up the coast throughout China and even into less affluent inland cities.
``The competition is more and more intense,'' said He Cheng, manager of the Liu Fu Shark Fin Restaurant in Beijing. ``In the past, just a few restaurants had shark fin, but gradually, it's become more commonplace.''
These restaurants serve not just shark fin, but abalone, sea cucumber, tropical fish and freshwater and sea turtles, all species at risk of becoming endangered, said Xu Hongfa, a Beijing-based wildlife specialist at WWF, a conservation organization.
"
Fireworks Display Contest until Oct 1
Macau International Fireworks Display Contest
Imagine the night sky of Macau glowing in a myriad of magnificent fireworks and accompanied by the cheers and applauses of spectators enjoying the impact of the light and sound show. What a splendid scene!
The annual "Macau International Fireworks Display Contest" not only lights up the nights of Macau, but also the hearts of spectators. Local residents long for the marvelous fireworks displays that add a joyous atmosphere to holidays and festivals. The Contest has also become an annual characteristic of Macau. Many visitors specially choose this time of the year to come to Macau to enjoy an exotic and romantic holiday.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Smog in HK
Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "HONG KONG (Reuters) - To gaze across Hong Kong's harbor at the city's glittering skyscrapers and soaring peaks is to take in one of the world's most spectacular urban vistas.
When you can see it.
The 'fragrant harbor' from which Hong Kong takes its name is often shrouded in toxic smog.
Hong Kong's air pollution hit a record high on September 14, with the index rising to over 200 for the first time since air quality monitoring was introduced in 1995. Doctors advised asthma sufferers and those with heart disease to stay indoors."
Friday, September 17, 2004
Virgin Blue to take off to Macau, China?
eyefortravel.com - Travel Distribution News, Events and Analysis
Virgin Blue to take off to Macau, China?
According to the South China Morning Post, Australian budget carrier, Virgin Blue, may launch a new airline that will be based in Macau, the former Portuguese colony on the southern coast of China. - (9/2/2004)
Virgin Blue spokesman, David Huttner, has been cited as saying that the airline is looking at an Asian venture.
The report states that Virgin Blue is hoping to take advantage of the emerging Chinese air travel market. This it claims is because Southeast Asia is expected to be the latest battleground for budget airlines, with Malaysia’s AirAsia already operating services from Macau to Bangkok, and Qantas’ new Singapore-based LCC to possibly commence flying before the end of the year.
Evidently, Virgin Blue would have to negotiate with Air Macau to waive its 25-year concession as the only carrier to be based there.
The South China Morning Post adds that Macau Airport itself would most likely welcome a new airline, as Air Macau currently operates to only nine of the 31 Chinese destinations for which it holds flying rights.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Macau logs record 1.5 million visitor arrivals in July
Macau logs record 1.5 million visitor arrivals in July :: PONTO FINAL :: Portal do Di�rio de Macau - MACAO DAILY NEWS:
"Macau, which has just 451,000 residents, logged a record 1.52 million visitor arrivals last month, an increase of 45.6 per cent on the same month last year, the Macau Statistics and Census Bureau said on Friday.
According to the official figures, Macau recorded a daily average of 49,160 visitor arrivals last month, corresponding to nearly 11 per cent of its resident population.
In the first seven months, Macau recorded 9.25 million visitor arrivals, a 51.4 per cent growth on the same period last year. A total of 57.5 per cent of all arrivals were mainland Chinese, 30.9 per cent were Hong Kong residents, and 7.3 per cent were Taiwanese.
Some 49.7 per cent of all visitor arrivals in the first seven months were members of tour groups.
Macau tourism representatives have attributed the strong increase in visitor arrivals to Beijing's relaxation of individual travel permits for mainland citizens and the liberalisation of Macau's gaming industry.
Macau now has 14 casinos that are operated by three rival companies, veteran Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), Las Vegas gaming magnate Sheldon Adelson's The Venetian, and Hong Kong property tycoon Lui Chee-woo's Galaxy Casino & Resort Company. SJM, which currently runs 12 casinos, says it plans to open 'several more' casinos in Macau over the next few years. Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts has said it plans to open its first casino-resort in Macau by the end of 2006. MGM from Las Vegas, which is understood to be finalising a casino sub-concession agreement with SJM, also reportedly plans to open its first casino in Macau late in 2006.
Tourism and gaming businesses are Macau's chief economic activity."
Macau's CPI continues to grow
Macau's CPI continues to grow :: PONTO FINAL :: Portal do Di�rio de Macau - MACAO DAILY NEWS: "Macau's composite consumer price index rose 0.03 per cent in the first seven months on the same period last year, the Macau Statistics and Census Bureau said on Monday.
Month-on-month, the index grew 0.38 per cent in July, the fourth consecutive month-on-month growth. Compared with the same month last year, the index increased 1.75 per cent. However, the index still fell 0.64 per cent in the 12-month period that ended in July on the same previous period.
Macau suffered had suffered deflationary pressure since 1998. Casino gambling, tourism and textile and garment exports are the chief economic activities of the former Portuguese enclave, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1999. Macau's gross domestic product grew 25.6 per cent in real terms in the first quarter on the same period last year. The city of 451,000 residents enjoyed two-digit GDP growth last year in 2002. "
Sands unveils four new restaurants, VIP suites
PONTO FINAL: "
Date: Aug 23, 2004 - 05:13 AM
Venetian Macau Limited, owner of the Sands, opened the doors of four new restaurants on the casino's third floor August 23, and also invited the press to a 'sneak preview' of its luxurious VIP suites.
The four restaurants are the Copa, an American-style steak house, Perola, featuring Macanese specialties, Cantonese restaurant Golden Court, and the Ruby Room, serving Shanghainese dishes. The 100-meter long 888 buffet, which has been operating since the Sands' opening in May, serves international cuisine on the second floor, overlooking the gaming tables.
Dan Raviv, special consultant to Venetian's Chairman of the Board, flew in from Las Vegas to introduce the new restaurants and key staff members to the press, but declined to comment on the company's future business plans, pending its IPO announcement, expected in October of this year.
He said that Venetian Las Vegas is known as the 'capital of gourmet food in the U.S.,' with 17 restaurants under one roof, and that if Macau Sands were placed among the casinos in Las Vegas, it would be 'the nicest of them all.'
He also pointed out the huge window on the casino floor, an unusual feature, considering casinos don't normally have windows at all, explaining that it was designed to make the Sands 'part of the whole community of Macau.'
Several of the lushly-appointed VIP suites were made available for viewing, although according to Sands spokesperson Alpha Padilla, they will not be ready for guests until September, with more coming on line in the following months to make a total of 51. The high-rolling customers who will be invited to stay in the capacious suites, which include steam rooms, Jacuzzis, and wide screen video systems, make up a carefully guarded, exclusive list known only to high-level Sands executives, she said.
"
Macau's first casino project financing closes for Wynn Resorts in Macau.
FinanceAsia Article: "
After 15 months of structuring, Wynn Resorts (Macau) has finally closed its first round of senior funding. The facility is split into a US dollar tranche and a Hong Kong dollar tranche and both are further divided into a project facility and a hotel facility.
There is a term loan is for $382 million and a revolving credit facility for HK$117 million ($15 million). The term loan has a maturity of seven years and carries a price of 350bp over Libor. The facility has a two grace period from signing and then follows an amortization schedule. The average life is 5.35 years."
Sands Macau off to roaring start
reviewjournal.com -- Business: GAMBLING BEYOND NEVADA: Sands Macau off to roarin...:
"The casino posted net income for the two months ended July 31 of $36.9 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or cash flow, of $41.2 million, based on a table drop of $608.2 million, the $350 million stock registration statement the Las Vegas Sands holding company filed Sept. 3 shows. Total drop is the amount wagered and lost at table games and slot machines.
Joe Greff, gaming analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners, an independent Wall Street investment research firm, said the early financial results suggest the company, which also owns The Venetian, will generate enough profit in the first 12 months to pay off its entire initial investment in Macau.
'That's just unheard of in the U.S. or any other North American gaming market -- and that didn't include the high-end areas and reflected inexperienced dealers and typical startup difficulties,' he said.
The $240 million Sands Macau is owned by Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands and has 319 table games, 600 slot machines, 18 restaurants, bars and entertainment venues near the ferry terminal in former Portuguese colony."
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Forbes.com: Henry Fok Wants A Kinder, Gentler Macau
Old news but anyway....
Forbes.com: Henry Fok Wants A Kinder, Gentler Macau: "Henry Fok Wants A Kinder, Gentler Macau
Davide Dukcevich, 04.02.02, 12:41 PM ET
NEW YORK - Henry Fok wants to restore the community he helped make one of the most violent and seedy in the world.
The 78-year-old tycoon, who is worth about $1 billion, today said he wants to sell his 27% interest in Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, the former gambling monopoly he has been a part of since its inception in 1961. The Hong Kong native said he would use the sale of his gaming properties, which account for three-quarters of his wealth (the rest comes from real estate), to fund Macau charities and economic development. "
Venetian Owner Eyes Chinese Resort - RGT Online
Venetian Owner Eyes Chinese Resort - RGT Online:
"Las Vegas Sands Inc., which recently opened a casino in Macau, said today that it has proposed a resort development on a nearby Chinese island, but without any casinos because they are illegal in the mainland.
Las Vegas Sands, owner of The Venetian, wants to develop parts of Hengqin Island, which is mainland Chinese territory connected by a bridge to Macau's Taipa Island, company president William Weidner said.
Weidner said his company had submitted a proposal to the government in Zhuhai, the mainland city just across from Macau that is in charge of Hengqin Island.
Weidner would not say whether his company wants to build one resort or more.
Media have reported here that Las Vegas Sands wants to develop three resorts, including hotels and a convention center, on the mainland island.
The reports said the company told Zhuhai officials that it wants to expand its operations onto the mainland island because Macau is small with little extra land available."
Eifman Ballet from St. Petersburg is now performing in Macau
The Eifman Ballet opened its Hong Kong appearances with "Red Giselle" (1997), one of the most famous ballets choreographed by the renowned St. Petersburg-based choreographer and leader of the company Boris Eifman. This spectacular two-act work is the most inventive and absorbing dramatic ballet seen in Hong Kong so far this year. Its story is based on the tragic life of the legendary St. Petersburg ballerina Olga Spessivtseva. In the early 20th century, the dancer was forced to compromise her artistry to the dictates of the Soviet regime and later fled to the West where she eventually suffered a mental breakdown.
Arts Features - Troupe movements - The St. Petersburg Times. General news from St.Petersburg and Russia
400 years after arriving from Portuguese Macau into the Philippines.
September 8 is a Catholic celebration of the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary and beautiful timing it was that a coffee table book about the Miraculous Brown Madonna of Cagayan River Valley was launched at the Waterfront Hotel on that same date.
The coffee table book relates the Madonna and Child’s history and describes the miracles attributed to the statue also known as the Lady of Piat.
The occasion would mark 400 years of its arrival from Portuguese Macau into the Philippines. A replica was given to a devotee in Cebu with hope of starting devotion here.
Pilar Cusi, Cebu City’s most prominent resident from Cagayan explained that Piat is a town located 30 km. from the capital town of Tuguegarao. The Lady of Piat is venerated in a shrine within a Cathedral.
After a mass celebrated by Monsignor Samuel Baculi, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, Roberto Caballero, the author of Yena Tam Ngamin, (Mother to us All), talked about the Brown Madonna and Child which arrived as a gift from Macau to the Philippines in 1604.
Mr. Caballero described the Madonna as brown skinned and made of paper mache, so the Spanish ecclesiastics did not give it much importance. More so that at that time there was an existing rivalry for colonial conquests between Spain and Portugal.
The statue was relegated to an obscure parish up northeastern Luzon, in the province of Cagayan where the Madonna’s brown complexion endeared her to the natives. Today, despite its 400 years of age and paper material, the statue is still intact and has not shown any sign of deterioration. Which is a miracle in itself.
At last!
Casinos Coming to Asia - RGT Online
When Portugal controlled Macau, a company owned by one of the richest men in the world, Stanley Ho, had a monopoly on casinos. It would not have been surprising if the new government had outlawed gambling; China still considers gambling one of the few sins worthy of the death penalty. Instead, three years after the turnover, the new rulers of Macau decided to issue more casino licenses and put them out to bid. Stanley Ho did win one, but so did Steve Wynn and a Hong Kong group that issued a sublicense to another American, Sheldon G. Adelson, owner of the Venetian in Las Vegas.
In May, 2004, Adelson, aided by his on-site top executives, including VP and General Counsel Thomas Smock, opened the Sands, the first new casino in Macau in 40 years.
I visited the Sands two weeks after it opened. It is a magnificent, western-style casino, which has been enormously successful by testing, and where necessary, disregarding accepted wisdom. For example, it was said that Asian gamblers would not play slot machines. The Sands installed a few video poker machines in a dark corner. The games have proven so popular that the casino has ordered hundreds more.
How gambling will spread depends almost entirely upon the unique laws and politics of the region.
Until recently, residents of mainland China could only visit Macau as part of a tour group. China now allows its residents to travel there independently, and the exit and entry point between Zhuhai and Macau has become one of the busiest border crossings in the world.
A string of casinos is being built in Macau, intentionally designed to conjure up comparisons with the Las Vegas strip. Laws will first have to be changed. For example, the traditional Macau casino was nothing more than a room with table games. It made sense to keep out minors at the door. But hotel casinos have restaurants, shows and gamblers who bring their children. Tom Smock has told me that legislation is already pending to let minors enter the buildings.
Steve Wynn forced another change in the law when he refused to begin construction of his massive hotel-casino project until the Macau government allowed casinos to issue credit to players.
The PRC is committed to aiding the growth of the casinos in Macau and sports and race betting (and shopping) in Hong Kong. Construction is beginning on the world's second longest bridge, spanning 19 miles across the China Sea, to connect Macau, Hong Kong and Zhuhai.
The government has even allowed an Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming to be set up at the University of Macau. Jason Zhicheng Gao, a noted professor and expert poker player from Canada, has been recruited as the organization's first director.
China hopes to have the best of both worlds. It can get all the jobs, tax revenue and economic growth from legal gambling while keeping it somewhat isolated in its remoter regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
But China cannot control what other countries do. By the time you read this, Singapore may also have voted to legalize casinos. Thailand, Taiwan, and even Japan, are debating the issue.
Chinese players call slot machines "tigers." It will be interesting to see how governments will react when they realize that it is they and not the players who have caught a tiger by the tail.
Read more here: Casinos Coming to Asia - RGT Online
Macau outstrips The Strip
Las Vegas has arrived....
This is from the Taipei Times....
Macau outstrips The Strip
Since Macau became part of China, gambling in the former Portuguses enclave has taken off in a big way, outdoing even Las Vegas
Auge cheer breaks through the cacophony at Sands Macau Casino as the 4 million pataca (US$518,000) blackjack jackpot is won.
Lights flash, music plays and hordes of tourists, mostly from China, gather around to congratulate the beaming winner.
Later, by the huge cocktail bar, two scantily clad Western girls gyrate on podiums to the "muzak" of a house band fronted by two equally skimpily attired female singers.
Overhanging the slot machines and the baccarat, roulette and card tables, a gigantic video screen the size of a tennis court flashes pop videos and ads for other casino attractions, including the upstairs buffet in a restaurant as big as two soccer pitches.
Gambling Macau-style has changed dramatically since Sands, a subsidiary of the Venetian company that owns its namesake hotel-casino complex in Las Vegas, opened in May.
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