Beacon of the East - Macao (1950s)

[Music] macau ancient city of the orient and once part of the mysterious celestial empire of china now belongs to portugal to whom it was given 400 years ago in recognition and gratitude for their aid in ridding the china sea of pirates in the 17th century it was the scene of many fierce attacks by the dutch and english but through the centuries it has survived and today holds its place as the riviera of the far east on guia hill overlooking the city the first lighthouse on the china coast was built a far cry of portugal's colonies in india are the sikh policemen who patrol the city huge bearded fellows who by reason of their great size are capable of controlling the chinese with a stern hand macau's main square is surrounded by government buildings and continental business houses its architecture is typical of cities on the far-off mediterranean the rickshaws however remind us of our location in the center of the city stands the historic ruins of the church of the mother of god from which all of the early missionaries were sent to the far east [Music] only highway into china is a busy road which runs from the city only a few miles to the barrier gate along this heavily traveled highway in the early hours of the morning there is a constant stream of chinese farmers on their way to the many markets with their produce and wares as in all parts of china these poor people of the soil must be their own beasts of burden they carry their heavy loads for miles slung on poles over their shoulders [Music] a few of the more affluent ride bicycles fruit fish both dried and fresh firewood charcoal bags of rice and vegetables are but a few of the many heavy loads [Music] along the road are many truck gardens every plant is meticulously watched and cared for never is there a thing out of order and the gardens are watered constantly since the soil is hot and dry rice is the staple food of china for its cultivation water buffaloes are used to drag the plows through the thick mud of the paddies or fields when resting these water buffaloes or carabaos are always found wallowing about up to the neck in mud and water this is their means of keeping cool since they are unable to perspire through their thick hides [Music] macau is one of the few places in the world where east meets west wandering a little way from its old european looking waterfront we come upon street after street of ancient china like another world oriental with pagoda roof buildings ornamented balconies gay banners painted with fantastic chinese characters and the constant parade of china's teaming millions patterning along in their wooden slippers hurrying with their heavily loaded baskets or trotting over the hot cobbled streets with primitive rickshaws it is warm here and the wealthy inhabitants never believe in walking when a chinese coulee will run them to any part of town in a few minutes for a few pennies [Music] sidewalk soup restaurants tea and rice cake stands do a thriving business in the crowded streets oriental street peddlers are everywhere this is not a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat simply a poor peddler calling attention to his merchandise a traveling pet shop [Music] there are many temples in macau each with a special festival day so there's almost always a procession going by it is an oriental characteristic to become very excited over these celebrations amidst the music of a chinese street orchestra the processions are led by beautifully embroidered and jeweled banners followed by flower bedeck shrines covering their various gods of worship it is a superstation that devil gods follow the processions to cause harm and havoc and in order to drive away these evil spirits the lion-headed dragon a fierce apparition always follows his savage gyrations and contortions over the root of the procession are supposed to frighten away these ghostly demons a chinese funeral calls for another procession large lanterns now replace the gay banners and flower bedeck floats carry not idols but all kinds of deliciously prepared foods implements everything which the man will need upon his awakening in heaven even money is included in these offerings so that in his future life he may have wealth and comfort [Music] all china is filled with beautiful age-old temples here in macau the temple of the goddess alma queen of heaven is one of the most beautiful its moon doorway is typical of chinese architecture inside the temple the sweet perfume of the jost stix fills the air and the smoke from the incense pots rises slowly as if in reverence to their eternal gods in the famous temple of lotus mountain the great emperor of ancient china signed the first open door treaty with america and the world far removed from the climber of the city in the quiet of a temple garden beautiful chinese girls find pleasure strolling through the ornamented pagodas and the carved stone bridges over pools filled with exquisite lotus flowers the manufacture of firecrackers is one of macau's greatest industries over five million dollars worth are sent all over the world each year the empty firecrackers are filled with fuses and powder by young girls who work many hours a day for a few pennies in this country of four million people labor is a cheap item [Music] much of the work is done at home such as the rolling of the large firecrackers a crude machine or roller is used for the purpose and this girl will make many hundreds in a day [Music] the greatest industry in macau is fishing and hundreds of these picturesque junks go out of the harbor each morning to catch their supply of fish there are so many that they're constantly coming and going propelled by the wind they resemble huge brown autumn leaves being blown across some quiet stream a strange and beautiful craft built in some ways like the spanish galleons of old whole generations of families are born live and die on these boats of old china 10 million of its population go ashore only to sell their goods and buy necessities which they themselves do not produce on each of these boats there is at least one old iron cannon which they charge with black gun powder old bolts rusty nails rocks and broken glass they don't shoot far or accurately but when discharged at close range at river pirates they make effective weapons the atmosphere of this country its people and its life their land and their ships changeless and unchanging through the centuries lingers in macau the oldest and most picturesque port of the china sea