Source link : https://news7.asia/news/for-china-macau-plays-the-good-student/
Visitors look at a painting depicting the handover of Macau at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center, during the 25th anniversary of the handover of Macau from Portugal to China, in Macau, Friday, December 20, 2024. ANTHONY KWAN / AP Visitors crowd on the footbridge offering the most beautiful selfies in front of the long facade copied from the Palace of Westminster. At the foot of Big Ben, London-style taxis await the customer. In the aisles, the musical atmosphere is made up of hits from the Kinks, Bowie and the Beatles. The enormous carriage, the red telephone boxes, the Tube wagon that we cross to take another photo, the marble statue of Henry VIII and even the plaque dubiously affirming between two shops that “the naturalist Charles Darwin lived here from 1838 to 1842”: the developers did not skimp on clichés to design the Londoner, the latest, in May 2023, of the Macau casinos. Across from the Parisian’s Eiffel Tower and Venetian’s gondolas, tourists can even watch the changing of the guard and visit the Harry Potter exhibition. These are the kinds of family activities that Beijing has long demanded that the former Portuguese colony convert to in order to break away from the other Macao, still clearly visible in the old city. There, the hell of gambling still deserves its reputation, with its rooms with flashy decorations and tired carpets which attract to the adjacent streets all kinds of activities frowned upon by the central power, but promoted by the neon lights which remain lit until daybreak. The places of prostitution of course, like the Golden sauna and the Emperor sauna, and especially the pawn shops. You have 82.55% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
Author : News7
Publish date : 2025-01-16 10:21:56
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