The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), in collaboration with China Media Group (CMG), has produced the World Heritage documentary “Macau: An Open-Air Museum”, aiming to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the inscription of the “Historic Centre of Macau” on the UNESCO World Heritage List, according to an IC statement yesterday.
The statement noted that the documentary premiered nationwide on CCTV-9 Documentary Channel on December 19 and is now available on the dedicated page of CCTV.com, as well as the YouTube platform for global audiences.
The statement added that the documentary centres on personal stories, offering diverse perspectives from residents, young students, intangible cultural heritage inheritors, historians, restoration experts, Macanese artists, cultural heritage architects, and conservation professionals closely connected to Macau’s UNESCO-listed Historic Centre. The documentary, according to the statement, “vividly and authentically” portrays the journey of safeguarding and transmitting Macau’s World Heritage.
The documentary not only revisits the challenging journey of the World Heritage inscription two decades ago but also highlights the rich and innovative practical experience accumulated by Macau in cultural heritage conservation, revitalisation, and transmission since the successful inscription, the statement said.
UNESCO recognised Macau’s Historic Centre as a World Heritage site on July 15, 2005. The Macau Post Daily published a special edition the next day about the inscription, headlined “We got it!” on its front page.
Meanwhile, the documentary depicts how generations of local people have nurtured the unique cultural heritage amid the exchange and convergence of Chinese and Western cultures, revealing how this heritage profoundly integrates into and influences the daily lives and spiritual world of contemporary Macau residents, according to the statement.
Macau: An Open-Air Museum is now available on the CCTV.com dedicated page: tv.cctv.com/2025/12/17/VIDAD9yMpuDXBtz7eWW7XOKF251217.shtml and the YouTube platform youtu.be/rvGGdn_Recc?si=XWCyiZJI8t_ONuvp.
For more information on the city’s cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage, please visit the Macau Cultural Heritage website: www.culturalheritage.mo.
*Customarily, the term “Macanese” refers to Macau’s community of mixed Portuguese and Asian descent, as well as their diaspora, accounting for less than 2.0 percent of the population. – MPD
This handout undated poster provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday promotes the documentary titled “Macau: An Open-Air Museum” about its UNESCO-listed World Heritage status.
