Macau’s Old Times, A New Journey Through the Old City

 

People often reminisce about the beauty of the past, yet lament how many cherished relics have long vanished, leaving only memories. In the 1920s-era row houses of the São Lázaro neighborhood, there is one place that, despite being old, damaged, and battered by typhoons, was saved and restored to its original state thanks to a designer who cherishes the past. It now serves as a museum of traditional residences, offering a place for locals nostalgic for old Macau or visitors to rest and feel the flow of bygone days.

 

The G32 Art Gallery was originally a residential building, but after the owner moved abroad, it was sublet to relatives and friends for years. In 2010, the São Lázaro Creative Industries Promotion Association rented the first floor. The following year, after a typhoon, the tenant on the second floor moved out, prompting the association to rent the entire floor and begin extensive restoration work.

 

The designer responsible for the restoration, Yuan Weiyeh, grew up in the São Lázaro area and knew the old charm of the place intimately. As a result, he decided to preserve as much of the original structure as possible and sourced vintage items from thirty or forty years ago in Macau to recreate the atmosphere of life in old Macau.

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The building has three floors. The wooden floors on the second and third levels had severely deteriorated due to roof leaks. Yuan Weiyeh removed the original wooden flooring, laid down a stone floor, and then reinstalled the original wooden strips one by one. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice long seams between the wood pieces — this is because the old timber was generally too short and had to be pieced together to fit the room. Even such small details have been meticulously preserved.

 

The second floor features two captivating large windows that hold a secret. These two-tiered green wooden windows are split into upper and lower sections. Normally, the inner layer is open while the outer layer has wooden railings at the bottom, accompanied by a pair of foldable wooden doors. Gently unlock the window to let sunlight warm the floor inside and bring in a gentle breeze. Li Aiming, General Manager of G17 Ceramics Gallery, said that these kinds of windows were very common in her childhood, and children would often dangle their feet out, watching the passersby.

 

Looking around, the interior still houses an old kettle, vintage television, a desk lamp used for over 30 years, and a wall clock that ticks noisily. Looking up, the ceiling is adorned with lights covered in petal-shaped glass shades — all old items no longer used by Macau’s residents today.

 

These scenes also serve perfectly as backdrops for shooting nostalgic films. Coinciding with Macau’s current promotion of microfilms, one film titled “Crazy Voice” specifically shot here. The third floor also includes a darkroom, which will be opened in the future to those interested in learning how to develop photos in a darkroom. Li Aiming mentioned that they also plan to transform the third floor into a café where visitors can slowly sip and savor the old times.

 

[INFO]

G32 Art Gallery

Address: A, 17 Rua de São Miguel, Macau, China

Phone: +853-2834-6626

Hours: Only Saturdays and Sundays, 15:00–17:30

Among the connected street-front buildings in the São Lázaro neighborhood, a brown wooden door opened outward this July. The letters MFG are inlaid above it, revealing a three-story independent house. Beautiful garments cascade out, exuding a rich sense of fashion.

 

This is the newly completed “Macau Fashion Gallery” in the São Lázaro area, focusing on exhibiting and selling fashion designs by local Macau designers. With a new exhibition theme every three months, even the nostalgia-laden old streets get a touch of new design inspiration. Huang Shaoli, Project Director of Macau Fashion Gallery, said this century-old building was originally managed by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, but was handed over to the Macao Productivity and Technology Transfer Center this year.

During our visit, it happened to be the time of the cross-strait four-region cheongsam exhibition: China, Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Each floor from the first to the third showcased cheongsam works by different designers. For example, Wu Changyan from Macau combined the traditional stand-collar cheongsam with a flamenco-style skirt hem to create a handcrafted, intricate mermaid-style cheongsam.

 

In addition to regular fashion exhibitions, the first floor also features works by graduates of the Productivity Center’s fashion courses. These are sold under the MaConsef brand at Macau Fashion Gallery. Huang Shaoli said the Productivity Center doesn’t want students to give up creating after graduation, so it established this brand to encourage young Macau designers to join the fashion industry. Moreover, Macau Fashion Gallery also hosts consigned clothing from Macau brands M in M and Lines Lab, and plans to hold fashion shows in collaboration with these clothing brands in the future.

 

If you’re wandering around Rua da Felicidade, don’t miss a visit to Macau Fashion Gallery to check out the latest in Macau-designed fashion. Let your mood sway between the new and the old, and experience the ever-changing face of this small city.

 

[INFO]

Macau Fashion Gallery

Address: 47 Rua de São Roque, Macau, China

Phone: +853-2835-3341

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–20:00; closed on Mondays