Winter comes to Macau
The Venetian Resort's holiday carnival boasts snow and ice skating
Temperatures in Macau rarely fall much below 15 degrees Celsius but that’s no reason not to enjoy a wintry wonderland complete with snow and ice at the luxurious Venetian Macau Resort Hotel, which is playing host to the “Winter in Venice” extravaganza until January 13.
The US$6 million holiday carnival is targetting holidaymakers from China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Thailand with plenty of fun for families and singles. The festive events include a light-and-sound show, outdoor activities, shopping and sightseeing.
“We want to offer locals and visitors a new way of enjoying the festive celebrations,” says Brendon Elliott, vice president of sales and resort marketing. “The highlights include a video-mapping show, ice-skating rink and the Broadway-style ‘Swan Lake on Ice’ show.”
The casino resort’s large Lagoon is covered with synthetic snow and boasts a towering Christmas tree, adorned with lights and seasonal decorations. Visitors can enjoy gliding on an outdoor ice-skating rink and have their photos taken while the Snow Queen, Nutcracker soldiers, balloon artists, living statues, contortionists and magicians entertain on the sidelines.
The young ones will love wandering around the giant snow globe over at St Mark’s Square while mums, dads and the teenage crowd can have fun shopping in the boutiques in the upscale Shoppes Grand Canal.
And there’s plenty of great food at the Winter Market Place, which features a barbecue station, beer garden and chocolate factory.
When night falls, the dazzling 3D light-and-sound show, “The Magic of the Season” takes spectators on a journey through the four seasons. Designed by the award-wining Laser Vision Mega Media, this innovative digital video-mapping technology spans more than 4,000 square metres and is projected on the facade of the Venetian.
But the mega-resort isn’t stopping at winter. It’s also aiming to draw more visitors to Macau through two other world-class attractions: The Titanic and the Human Bodies exhibitions at CotaiExpo Hall F.
“Titanic: The Exhibition" is an interactive exhibition organised together with National Geographic and showcases more than 400 artefacts from the Titanic, her sister ships, and famous films to tell the dramatic tale of the ocean liner.
It’s divided into five zones – the First and Third Class Hallways, First Class Cabin, Grand Staircase, the ship promenade deck and the Boiler Room.
Particularly impressive is the Grand Staircase, a symbol of elegance and social gathering point of the Titanic. It’s a full-scale recreation capped with a beautiful dome of iron and glass, home to a bronze cherub-like statue.
The Human Bodies exhibition is next door and is a must for anyone with the slightest interest in anatomy. It showcases more than 200 organs and full body specimens along with information on how they work. The exhibition is divided into six categories – Skeletal and Muscular, Respiratory, Digestive, Nerves, Circulatory, Reproductive/Urinary and Foetal Life.
Thanks to an innovative preservation technology called plastination, which replaces body fluids with polymer, the bodies could easily pass for accurate sculptures.
Each pose is designed to show the beauty of the human form, with one skeleton shooting a basketball and another scoring in a rugby game.
A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS
>>> “Winter in Venice” runs until January 13. Admission is free.
>>> "The Titanic” and “Human Bodies” exhibitions run until February 24 at CotaiExpo Hall F. They’re open daily from noon to 8pm. Tickets are MOP120 (Bt480).
>>> Until January 13, visitors purchasing the Titanic package starting from HK$1,798 (Bt8,990) get to stay overnight at the Venetian Macao. The offer is valid through January 13. Visit www.VenetianMacao.com.
