After its return to the motherland China, Macao's culture has been globally recognized, with the cultural and creative industries developing steadily and the region's cultural atmosphere becoming increasingly rich. Currently, Macao is working on becoming a "City of Performing Arts." In 2023, the Macao SAR government and private enterprises organized over 2,000 large-scale performances, with more than 10,000 cultural activities, attracting nearly 20 million participants. Recently, Leong Wai Man, Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) of the Macao SAR, was interviewed by the Yangcheng Evening News.

Yangcheng Evening News: As Macao celebrates the 25th anniversary of its return to the motherland, what milestone developments have there been in Macao's cultural endeavors? How engaged are Macao residents in cultural activities?

Leong Wai Man: We are delighted to see the entire Macao community's emphasis and sense of identity with Macao's local culture over these 25 years. We have experienced several milestone achievements. Firstly, in 2005, the "Historic Centre of Macao" was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List. Secondly, the Qing Dynasty Macao local government archives, "Chinese Manuscripts," were successfully included in the UNESCO The Memory of the World (MoW) Register. Additionally, Macao has been designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. This recognition instills a sense of pride in our citizens, enhances cultural confidence, and has a very positive significance.

Besides, we have seen citizens actively participating in cultural activities and consumption. In the past, Macao residents did not have as many opportunities in this area, nor was there a habit of purchasing tickets. But in recent years, we have observed an increase in cultural consumption.

Yangcheng Evening News: In Macao's plan for moderate economic diversification, the cultural industry holds an important position. Is developing the performing arts economy one of the best ways to coordinate and develop other fields?

Leong Wai Man: In 2023, the Macao SAR government released the "Macao Special Administrative RegionDevelopment Plan on Appropriate Economic Diversification (2024-2028)." The cultural industry, as a crucial part of promoting Macao's "1+4" appropriate economic diversification development strategy, has formulated corresponding work strategies to advance the "City of Performing Arts" and support moderate economic diversification.

Yangcheng Evening News: What specific work has Macao undertaken in building the "City of Performing Arts"?

Leong Wai Man: We need to strengthen infrastructure. For example, last year, we completed two new theaters. Building on Macao's existing first-class indoor performance venues, the SAR government is also planning an outdoor performance venue that can accommodate 50,000 people.

Beyond infrastructure, the IC will continue to manage its own brand performances and artistic activities, including the annual Macao Arts Festival, Macao International Music Festival, and "Encounter in Macao – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries", while also continuing to support various institutions and enterprises in organizing a wider range of performances. Additionally, we will promote a creation plan to give local art troupes more opportunities to create works that belong to and represent Macao.

Yangcheng Evening News: In building the "Cultural Bay Area," what new initiatives or joint activities do the IC and the cultural departments of Guangdong and Hong Kong SAR plan for the future?

Leong Wai Man: We have an annual Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cultural cooperation meeting, under which, after years of accumulation, we have very in-depth exchanges in libraries, cultural institutions, performances, intangible cultural heritage, and other areas.

For example, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Alliance of Museums was established last year, and we are pleased that two Macao museums have joined this alliance. In the future, we will cooperate with various cultural institutions to promote Lingnan culture and maritime silk culture.

In terms of performances, last year we promoted some performances from Portuguese-speaking countries or Macao's Portuguese-speaking communities in Zhuhai, which were very successful. We hope that similar activities can continue to increase in the future.

Yangcheng Evening News: Lingnan culture is the common cultural origin of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. What specific cooperation is there among the three regions in this regard?

Leong Wai Man: Last year, we co-hosted with Hong Kong an exhibition of cultural relics and architectural components from the Greater Bay Area, as our architecture can very well reflect the essence of Lingnan culture. Each of the three regions also uniquely reflects its own regional characteristics, such as Hong Kong and Macao having elements that integrate the East culture and the West culture.

We plan to cooperate with relevant departments in Guangdong and Hong Kong to host a series of diverse activities to promote Lingnan culture, themed around Lingnan culture. Currently, we are planning an event related to cultural relics, aiming to integrate the cultural relics resources of the three regions around a specific theme. In the future, we may also develop tourism routes related to Lingnan culture.

Source: Lingnan On the Cloud

澳门特区政府文化局局长梁惠敏：本地文化获世界认可，积极打造“演艺之都”

回归祖国以来，澳门文化屡获世界认可，文创产业稳步发展，城市文化氛围日渐浓厚。目前，澳门正在打造“演艺之都”：2023年澳门特区政府及民间企业举办的大型演出超过2000项，各项文艺活动共超过1万场次，参与人次接近2000万。近日，澳门特区政府文化局局长梁惠敏接受了羊城晚报专访。

羊城晚报：回归祖国25周年，澳门的文化事业有哪些里程碑式的发展？澳门市民对文化活动的参与程度如何？

梁惠敏：在这25年里，我们非常开心地看到，全体澳门市民对于澳门本土文化的一种重视和认同感。我们经历了几项具有里程碑意义的工作，首先在2005年的时候，澳门历史城区成功被列入了世界遗产名录。其次，清代澳门地方衙门档案“汉文文书”成功入选《世界记忆名录》。同时，澳门还被评为联合国教科文组织创意城市网络的美食之都。这种认同对于我们的市民来说是一种自豪感，增强了文化自信，具有非常积极的意义。

同时，我们看到了市民积极参与文化活动和消费。过去，澳门市民在这方面没有那么多的机会，也没有培养市民购票的习惯。但到了这几年，我们看到了文化消费的增长。

羊城晚报：在澳门经济适度多元发展规划中，文化产业处于重要的地位。其中，发展演艺经济是不是联动其他领域协同发展的最好方法之一？

梁惠敏：2023年特区政府公布了《澳门特别行政区经济适度多元发展规划（2024-2028年）》，文化产业作为推动澳门“1+4”经济适度多元发展的重要一环，我们就推进“演艺之都”制定了相应的工作策略，助力经济适度多元发展。

羊城晚报：在打造“演艺之都”的过程中，澳门目前开展了哪些具体工作？

梁惠敏：我们需要加强硬件建设。比如去年，我们有两个新剧场落成。在澳门已有众多一流室内演出场地的基础上，特区政府还在筹备一个可以容纳5万人的户外演出场地。

硬件之外，文化局会持续做好自有的品牌演出和艺术活动，包括一年一度的澳门艺术节、澳门国际音乐节、中葡文化艺术节等，同时会继续支持不同的机构和企业举办更多不同类型的演出。另外，我们会推动一个创作计划，给予本土艺团更多机会去创作属于澳门、代表澳门的作品。

羊城晚报：在构建“人文湾区”方面，澳门文化局与广东和香港的文化部门未来会有哪些新的举措或联办活动？

梁惠敏：我们每年都会有一个粤港澳文化合作会议，在这一框架下，经过多年的积累，我们在图书馆、文博机构、演出、非遗等方面都有很深入的交流。

例如，去年成立的粤港澳大湾区博物馆联盟，很高兴澳门有两个博物馆加入了这个联盟，今后将与各文博单位开展更多合作，将岭南文化、海丝文化等发扬光大。

像演出方面，去年我们推介了一些葡语系国家或澳门的葡语社群的表演，去珠海进行演出，非常成功。我们希望类似的活动日后可以继续增加。

羊城晚报：岭南文化是粤港澳大湾区共同的文化渊源，在这方面粤港澳三地有什么具体合作？

梁惠敏：我们去年与香港一起举办了一个粤港澳三地文物建筑构件的展览，因为我们的建筑里就能很好地体现出岭南文化的底蕴。而三地又会更独特地体现自身区域的特色，例如香港和澳门有一些中西文化融合的元素。

我们计划与广东、香港的相关部门合作，以岭南文化为主题，举办一系列多样化的活动推广岭南文化。目前，我们正在筹划一项有关文物资源的活动，旨在将三地的文物资源围绕特定主题进行整合。未来还可能开发岭南文化相关的旅游路线。

总策划｜任天阳
总统筹｜林海利
总执行｜胡泉
策划执行｜蒋铮
统筹执行｜王漫琪 李国辉
文｜记者 曾潇 付怡
翻译丨赵凡
英文审校丨邹晓华