The faces of macau's global identity: between historic churches and modern casinos

Resumo

During the signing of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration in 1987, local authorities in Macau established major principles for managing its hybrid Luso-Asian architecture, landmarks, and urban spaces by emphasizing the city's cosmopolitan essence. This approach was later voiced through the slogan: ""A world of difference, the difference is Macau."" However, Macau has undergone remarkable urban development and international identity changes since becoming a Special Administrative Region (SAR) on December 20, 1999. Declared a World Heritage Site in 2005, the ""Historic Centre of Macau"" tells the unique history of Macau as the earliest and longest-lasting European entrepôt in Asia. It is a testimony to nearly 450 years of cultural, architectural, and technological exchanges between East and West. However, since 2002, Macau's tourist landscape has undergone significant changes. The government declined to renew the gambling monopoly of Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) and invited Las Vegas-style mega-casinos to establish themselves. Additionally, urban developments such as creating the Cotai Strip—a land reclamation project aimed primarily at the leisure industry that connected the islands of Taipa and Coloane—have transformed the city’s international identity. Thus, today, Macau is recognized both as a ""City of Culture"" and ""Asia's Las Vegas"".
Considering these features—Old Portuguese heritage and new gambling culture—as parts of Macau’s tourist identity nowadays, this study examines the multiple tensions resulting from the city’s development over the past two decades since the handover to the People's Republic of China. The research explores how it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between these two incongruent scenes: the official heritage buildings declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the newly constructed, historic-looking facades of casinos, hotels, and theme parks. Furthermore, the study investigates how these dual scenarios endure the local SAR and Beijing governments' interventions in preserving Macau's image as ""a land of diversity and opportunities"" and a bridge to the world.