Macao Daily News
The autumn and winter in 2025 usher us into the season of the exhibition, Reflections of Maritime Connections:
16th–19th Century Sino-Portuguese Cultural Exchange.
In 1999, Macao returned to the embrace of the motherland. That same year marked the first collaboration, Splendors of a Flourishing Age – Paintings and Antiques of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns from the Forbidden City, between the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Macao Museum of Art. This exhibition promoted the spectacular Chinese culture in Macao and celebrated the city’s handover in the new millennium. The Macao Daily News was honoured to be part of such a grand occasion alongside many prestigious institutions and experts. By reporting this event, we sought to pass on the Chinese culture in Macao and beyond. Through elevating our cultural confidence, we tell the fantastic tales of the city and our motherland.
The Splendors of a Flourishing Age exhibition showcased a calligraphic work of the Chinese maestro Qigong. The remarkable exhibit highlighted the close cultural ties between the two cities. Over these 26 years, our publication has been diligently chronicling the journey of the treasures of the Forbidden City southward and the transmission of Macao’s arts and culture to the north. Today, it is gratifying to see Portuguese cultural institutions participating in this grand event, which exemplifies that ‘Civilisations have become richer and more colorful with exchanges and mutual learning.’
Reflections of Maritime Connections: 16th–19th Century Sino-Portuguese Cultural Exchange features 177 exquisite exhibits. Spanning four hundred years of the Maritime Silk Road, this exhibition offers a glimpse into a grand vision: blue-and-white porcelain still reflects the sails of the renowned navigator Zheng He’s ships, and ancient maps retain the rhythm of Portuguese masts. This cultural context uniquely highlights the interweaving and integration of Chinese and Western cultures in the small city of Macao, shaping its cultural fabric and enabling the people of Macao to be rooted in their home, embrace their homeland, and gaze upon the world.
The Macao Daily News will continue to wield its pen with determination, dedicating itself to the preservation of culture. We invite all sectors of society to join hands, ‘with Chinese culture as the mainstream and diverse cultures coexisting’, to create a magnificent tapestry of Macao collaboratively.
May the light of civilisation shine eternally upon Macao
Lok Po
Director of Macao Daily News