Patane Night Watch House Now Open to Public
The ‘Patane Night Watch House’ is open to the public, with admission free (Photo provided by Government Information Bureau)
The Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Tou Tei Mio Patane Mercy and Charity Association co-organized the establishment of the 'Patane Night Watch House', which opened to the public for free on 18th December 2015.
The night watchers of ancient China served to report time and remind people to take precautions against fire and theft. However, this community service gradually vanished following increasing modernisation. The Patane Night Watch House, the last to exist in Macao, reflects the night watch practice (night watchmen) of the city in the distant past.
The Patane Night Watch House is divided into two thematic exhibition halls; namely, 'Macao's Night Watch Houses' and 'Image of Night Watchmen'. In the exhibition hall of 'Macao's Night Watch Houses' images and documents tell the story of the night watch house and introduce the regulations of the night watchman's duties, the reporting time methods and other details of the job. It also includes tools and objects related to the job of the night watchman such as gongs, wooden beaters, fire hose nozzles, silver whistles and service receipts, among others.
The exhibition hall of the 'Image of Night Watchmen' features graphic images of night watchmen created by Macao artists and recounts the story of night watchmen of the past reporting time, overseeing public safety, and taking precautions against fire as well as executing their warning duties and contribution, through interviews with former watchmen.
The 'Patane Night Watch House' is located at No. 52-54, Rua da Palmeira; opening hours are from 10:00am to 6:00pm (no admission allowed after 5:30pm), including public holidays and closed on Mondays.
Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business Now Free
To promote the history of Macao's pawnshop business, the Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business, under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, is now open to the public for free
The venue of the exhibition is the site of the former Tak Seng On Pawnshop (The Virtue and Success Pawnshop) which was established and co-funded by Macao magnates Kou Ho Neng and Wong Hung Shan in 1917. The heritage exhibition comprises two blocks. The front block is a three-storey pawnshop and bank, while the rear block is a seven-storey storehouse. The ground floor of the pawnshop and partial floors of the storehouse are already open to the public, and visitors can review the past operation and procedures of the pawnbroker business through the exhibits in the venue.
Tak Seng On Pawnshop received an Honourable Mention in the UNESCO 2004 Asia-Pacific Awards for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, and it was also selected as an Urban Best Practices Area by the Shanghai World Expo 2010. It was one of the buildings to be preserved after the World Expo.
The Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business is located at No. 396 Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, and opens from 10:30am to 7:00pm daily, closing on the first Monday of each month.