On 2 December 2024, all S5-6 students joyously embarked on a one-day Macau tour. This journey certainly proved to be an excellent opportunity for us to learn about the culture of a fellow special administrative region of our motherland.
First, we headed to the Macau University of Tourism for a brief introduction and a tour of the institution. We learned a great deal about the University itself being a highly regarded institute for tourism and hospitality studies, strolling around its high-end facilities with its students as our tour guides. Not only that, but we also learned of Macau’s renowned status as one of the capitals of the world’s leisure and hospitality industry during the introduction. Take a wild guess on what other industry is giving Macau’s economy a leg up on its competitor, the lecturer asked us out of the blue. We were stumped on what the answer might be! Gambling? No. Car racing? No. The answer ended up being concerts. We all knew Macau as the king of gambling, but who knew Macau as the flourishing giant of concerts? We were all fascinated by this discovery.
After that, we visited the Ruins of St. Paul. We were all enthralled by the enormity of the ancient relic, wondrously craning our necks up just to catch a full glimpse of the famed landmark. This landmark, despite being a shell of its former glory, withstood the trials of time and war, standing tall and proud even to this day. Having some free time, we roamed around the relic, going inside different shops and tasting the local food. Who knew Portuguese custard tarts fresh out of the kitchen look so drool-worthy and taste so delectable? As we shuffled back onto the coaches, our hands were no longer empty with bags of treats being brought back with us.
For our last stop, we visited the Macau Science Centre. As the coaches approached the centre, we noticed the odd shape of it. It was asymmetrical and conical, quite unlike the buildings we have in Hong Kong. Regarding its shape, our tour guide told us an anecdote. When harsh typhoons hit the building, it caused great damage to its ulterior. As the slabs that adorned its ulterior were not the same in size as one another, it required each unique one to be painstakingly ordered and replaced, making it extremely time-consuming to repair after every typhoon. This goes to show the effort put into maintaining the symbol of science in Macau, allowing the public to continue to enjoy the educational value of the centre. Inside the museum, we walked up a giant spiral staircase to get to each exhibition room. There were rooms on basic physics theories, biodiversity, astronomy, and most surprisingly the Chinese Scientist Spirit Gallery. Needless to say, we left with bundles of newly acquired knowledge.
The trip concluded as we hopped on the coaches and buckled up one last time. We left Macau with a head filled with new knowledge, and of course, a stomach full of Macau’s famed treats. We all immensely enjoyed this opportunity to learn outside the classroom, and we are looking forward to the next time such an opportunity arises.
5B Erin Chan