Sands China Team Members Enjoy Immersive Theatre Show "The Banquet of Zheng Family"

Enhancing professionalism and understanding of World Heritage in Macao

(Macao, Jun 8, 2023) – Sands China team members enjoyed an immersive theatre experience entitled "The Banquet of Zheng Family" at the Mandarin's House Tuesday, hosted by Sands China as part of the company's ongoing professionalism education series, and aiming to develop team members' understanding of the history and culture of Macao and the nation.

"The Banquet of Zheng Family" is the first immersive theatre experience to take place at a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Macao. It was organised by Nam Kwong Culture and Creativity Industry Co., Ltd., the Chinese Kunqu Culture Association of Macau, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Youth Drama Association under the guidance of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, with the support of the Macao Government Tourism Office and the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government.

Set in a World Heritage Site of rich culture and history, "The Banquet of Zheng Family" incorporates a diverse array of art forms and theatrical genres such as traditional Chinese song and dance, Cantonese opera, and plays, performed as a murder mystery game – exemplifying Chinese and Western cultures and aesthetics.

As part of the Historic Centre of Macao, the Mandarin's House was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005. It is the former residence of Zheng Guanying, a well-known Chinese thinker and entrepreneur, and is the largest in scale among all such residential complexes still existing in Macao.

With the characteristics of traditional Guangdong residences, the Mandarin's House also features a fusion of architectural influences from Western cultures, making it a unique product of Chinese and Western cultural interchange. This mansion has great cultural and historic value: it is where Zheng completed the acclaimed masterpiece "Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity."

Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd., said: "Sands China was very pleased to organise this theatre outing for team members. The historic centre of Macao has been a witness to the city's development and it provides crucial cultural and tourism resources to Macao. As they experience the charm of our World Heritage Site and explore the culture of our city in a fun and interactive way, we hope this experience serves to strengthen our team members' pride and patriotism in Macao and the nation."

One of the team members who attended said: "This was a really unique performance, and I'm so glad I came. I didn't quite know what to expect, but the combination of traditional Chinese theatre mixed with murder mystery game elements was really interesting. I liked how we got to participate in the performance as audience members; that was a really fun part of it for me. I hope I get a chance to attend another activity like this the next time our company arranges one."

Sands China has been committed to improving the professionalism of its team members company-wide, through various initiatives that have included professional literacy training courses, Greater Bay Area visits, professional lectures, a distinguished speaker forum series, various professional exchange activities, and film screenings. More than 60 professionalism activities have been held to date, totalling over 63,000 participants.