Macau Fisherman's Wharf

The HK$1.9 billion Fisherman's Wharf offers nightly explosions of the complex's 40-meter-high volcano, daily jet-ski stunt shows and shopping and eating.

Macau Fisherman's Wharf complex includes over 150 stores and restaurants in buildings built in the style of different world seaports such as Cape Town, Amsterdam and Venice, six rides, a slots hall, a 72-room hotel, and a casino.

The Macau Fisherman's Wharf is located in the Macau Peninsula, near the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier. You will not miss it when you come via the Jeffoils or the helicopter.

Moreover, it sits right beside the huge Sands Casino. If you have your own yatch, you may want to berth here. The staff of Fisherman's Wharf will help you will all the immigration procedures.

If you get confused with all the pastiches and colors just remember that there are actually three major thems: Dynasty Wharf, East Meets West, Legend Wharf.

Dynasty Wharf

Dynasty Wharf, which encapsulates Chinese history and culture in the form of traditional items sold on the streets, handicrafts in the exhibition halls, and sampan and 'jumbo' seafood restaurants, will be built first.

Macau East Meets West

East Meets West, the second themed 'wharf', will be constructed on mainly reclaimed land and will include a 30-metre tall man-made volcano complete with waterfalls, volcanic 'eruptions' and night-time laser shows plus large ceramic crucibles and mine carts to ride in inside for that Indiana Jones expe-rience.

An African Fort will house a large variety of amusements, fun fair and playground for kids and teenagers; and the Greek Square will serve as a leisure park and performance area with banqueting facilities and ice-skating rink attached.

Legend Wharf 

Legend Wharf will feature the leaning Tower of Pisa, a 16th century Portuguese restaurant, 18th century French inns and galleon museum, disco, 21st century high-tech games centre and a pool area complete with dolphins.

"We would like to introduce a new concept of family entertainment by bringing in new technologies in the form of theme entertainment attraction," said Dr. Stanley Ho, one of the owner developer.

"Investing large amounts of money in expertise and manpower in the development of the Macau Fisherman's Wharf, Ma-cau Tower and in the redevelopment of the Inner Harbour districts to reconstruct the old city of Macau (we are) contributing our part in the upgrading of tourism in Macau both in terms of quality and quantity."

The other owner developer and CEO is David Chow. The total investment for the wharf is estimated at more than 900 million patacas (112.5 million US dollars).

Below is an International Herald Tribune interview with Mr Chow.

Bringing the world to Macau.

Developers are aiming to recreate Xanadu in Asia, through the construction of Macau Fisherman's Wharf, one of the most ambitious tourism projects the Pearl River Delta has ever seen. The man who has made this dream materialize is David Chow, a man who takes great pride in his dedication to Macau.

In February 2000, barely two months after the handover of Macau back to China, Mr.Chow laid out the plans for his $300 million entertainment complex. Project Xanadu, as it was then known, would be a family-oriented entertainment pier in Macau's outer harbor that would occupy an area of one million square feet, 40% of which was to be reclaimed from the sea.

At the time Macau was still in a transition period following the Portuguese handover and many regarded Mr. Chow's idea as little more than a pipedream.

"When I first presented my plans to the government, some people did not understand the concept behind it," he explains. "They said it couldn't be done – that it was too ambitious."

However, this lukewarm reception did not deter Mr. Chow and five years after the plans were given the green light, his vision has finally taken shape: Fisherman's Wharf - billed as Macau's "stately pleasure-dome" - is a reality.

As Macau Fisherman's Wharf transforms from dream into reality, visitors arriving by ferry may be doing a double-take when they catch their first glimpse of scenes from what could be Miami, Rome, Old England, or even Mount Vesuvius.

Mr. Chow, one of the territory's most famous businessmen and world travelers, has brought a piece of the world back to the shores of Macau's outer harbor.

Macau Fisherman's Wharf commands attention with its colorful collection of architecture based on waterfront buildings from around the world. The family entertainment destination will feature an upscale nightlife district with pubs and a disco, children's attractions that include rides and shows, a luxury hotel, Macau's largest convention center, and an array of international dining and shopping venues from renowned Hong Kong retailers. If that is not enough to satisfy a visiting family, there will even be a flame-erupting volcano.

"I came up with the idea for Fisherman's Wharf after a lifetime of travel: I wanted to take the best parts from all over the world and bring them to Macau," enthuses Chow. "Although we have incorporated some elements of local culture, when you walk around Macau Fisherman's Wharf, you will not feel that you are in Macau. The idea behind the whole project was to attract families to Macau, as there were few venues where children and parents could go to together to enjoy themselves."

This of course, is very much in line with government policy, one of whose prime goals is to attract more family-based entertainment and, by extension, more families to Macau. It was not always so, and Mr. Chow's Fisherman's Wharf is said to have turned heads in government. Before David Chow's envisioning of Fisherman's Wharf, no one had ever spoken of bringing families to Macau, and efforts were concentrated on the gaming industry. Soon after the project was approved, the government started raising the issue of more family-oriented tourism, and now it has become a major focus of Macau's tourism strategy.

Mr. Chow had long been conceiving his plan to build an educational, family-oriented theme park, and his move to wait until after the handover back to China was a deliberate one.

"I wanted to show my commitment to the new Macau," explains Mr. Chow. "It was my way of saying thank you to Macau for making me a wealthy man. I believe that if you make your wealth here, you are indebted to invest it back into Macau, to make it a better place."

Macau Fisherman's Wharf, or Macau's Xanadu, will certainly give the growing crowds of visitors to Macau something to cherish, and, when Mr.Chow receives approval for the second phase of his project, a further three hotels, a marina, an exhibition center, a new executive office building and, perhaps inevitably, a casino will also be built.

"After all, you have to have someplace for the adults to play as well," smiles Mr. Chow. "I love Macau and want to help develop it,"

Macau Fisherman's Wharf website