Old Shanghailander's photostream

A continuation of my series Low-fidelity: An Accidental Incidence.

It is always said that celebrities earn money easily and quickly because all they need is a pretty face. I just feel a bit bad when I came across this poster which features one of the most beautiful Asian pop star. I don't know who is so naughty, and gave her such a makeover and rude words all over the place... ...

I'll limit my words here as a picture is worth a thousand words.

I don't really know when this building was built, but as far as the story goes, this building used to be a slaughterhouse. In the mid-20th century, oxen were made to walk all the way from the Ox Warehouse on Avenida do Coronel Mesquita (which is right next to Macau's only funeral home) all the way to this Matadouro Municipal. They would pass by a lot of beautiful buildings on the way, including:

- The Red Market on Avenida do Almirante Lacerda,

- Rua da Ribeira do Patane, which is parallel to Avenida de Demetrio Cinatti [where a lot of Streamline Moderne "Ponte" buildings still stand, and notorious for its fish and crab congee for this avenida is very close to the city's most famous seafood market: Mercado Municipal do Patane, or simply Water Market in Cantonese]

- Rua das Lorchas, where a lot of old inns and defunct firecracker offices/factories stand,

- And passing by the art deco Hotel Grande at the intersection of Rua das Lochas and the famous Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (San Ma Lou in Cantonese)

And numerous of little colorful dried fish shophouses and tall pawnshops before arriving at the Matadouro which is just right next to the A-ma Temple.

It was indeed a long exhausting route. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, when Macau was still a poor little town, there weren't many forms of entertainment. So if one of these oxen was disobedient and refused to walk, he would be beaten hard and would also make the headlines of the newspaper the next day; a topic to be discussed by a lot of fellow citizens rather seriously... ...

This building is one of the last buildings in Macau that still bears the Portuguese Coat of Arms. In fact most Coat of Arms of these historic buildings in Macau still survive under a plaster mold instead of being knocked down. On the plaster mold, a shiny bright red Emblem is hung. Since these buildings are all western in style, it leads to a very interesting debate I had with some old Macanese of Chinese ethnic over some shark fins and rice wine one evening.

My very personal perspective is that since Macau is officially a part of the Motherland, it's of course necessary to replace the coat of arms with the emblem. However, these stubborn old bones, my opponents during the debate, argued, "Why cover the coat of arms with the plaster and not to have it knocked off? Why keep the buildings and not tear them down for the buildings are also a symbol of colonialism!... ... if you [referring to me] argue that having the Portuguese Coat of Arms... .... is no longer appropriate for the buildings today... ..."

An endless debate.

f/8, 1/125s, ISO160, Seagull 4A TLR

See galeria.kounii.com/macau-2011/ for the whole album

Located on Estrada do Repouso, Fabrica de Vinho Chines Tai Cheong is one of the last remaining rice wine factories that is still in operation in Macau. Back in the early 2000s, there were a few more, but when I revisited them in 2011, all of them are already gone. It was founded by Cheong Wah in the 1940s, the time when the number Chinese wine establishments reached its peak — there were more than 60 in the city.

The area around Estrada do Repouso is also the area where most Chinese patriots lived and worked. So it’s no surprise that propaganda images of China’s 1960s-70s were hanging all over this little fabrica.

f/3.6, 1s, ISO160, Seagull 4A TLR

Visit galeria.kounii.com/macau-2011/ for the whole album.

Visit galeria.kounii.com/hong-kong-2011-part-ii/ for the whole album.

Visit galeria.kounii.com/hong-kong-2011-part-i/ to view the whole album.