By Franky, a local born in the 1990s and raised up in Macao, now working in an online media company, and as a politics, economic and cultural editor.

It is a true story. At a remote corner of the Lai Chi Vun shipyard, a handicraftsman long past his prime keeps himself busy at sharpening wood day after day negligent of the time. All small-scale and exquisite models of sailing ships embody his lifelong handicraft and reminiscences of his early days. He is a shipbuilder, who witnesses the decline of the Macao shipbuilding industry from its heyday.

In the past, the shipbuilding industry was once the economic pillar of Macao, and this anonymous shipbuilder was also once the major support of his shipyard. Under his command, one wooden ship after another set sail for long trips to the sea. These awe-inspiring scenes allowed him to take pride in himself in the face of sea and time. Turning a page to the present, we now envy those working in casinos in formal attire, while we don’t see yellow sweat stains on shirts as symbols of contributions. Money is like water, and the city is flooded at the tide of wealth. Perhaps due to his age, at the viewpoint of the shipbuilder on the shore, there is a wonder whether this generation is enjoying oneself, or struggling against the tide.

This article is excerpted and translated from Chinese