Templo de Pou Chai, Macau - Now and Then

Not far from Lou Lim Ioc Garden is the famous old Pou Chai Temple (Templo de Pou Chai). Also known as Kun Iam Temple, it was the location of the signing of the first Sino-American treaty (Treaty of Mong Ha) in 1844. There used to be a stone table where the signing took place, but on my recent trip I couldn't find it. I believe it was also once the location of a kidnapping attempt on Fu Tak Iam - Macau's first casino tycoon before it was wrestled from his grasp by Stanley Ho and Henry Fok et al via STDM.

For the purpose of this blog, it's connection to the film world comes from Narazumono (aka An Outlaw) where it was used as the Hong Kong location of the drug gang boss.

I've tried to get some comparisons but my reference material was hindered by the extreme amount of sunlight on the day - meaning I couldn't really see properly - but you get the general idea from the comparisons.

The temple remains largely unchanged since 1964, but you will notice that the large tree on the right in the first image below has been replaced by a small annex building. There looks to have been some changes on the temple roof, but this is hardly surprising given that we have had 62 years worth of typhoons to contend with since the film was made. It's not surprising that some of the Shekwan pottery has gone missing/been replaced.

In terms of the alleyway shot, there are actually two alleyways that run either side of the central altar buildings and it's not easy to tell which one they used in the film. They both look exacatly the same to the point where I can't remember which one it is I have used below for my comparison.

The final images show one of the smaller shrine rooms (on the east side of the complex I think) and the film image is largely obscured by the dark patch on the left used for the Japanese screen titles. In reality the room is quite open and behind the darkened bit is the shrine area.

The front gatehouse above has had an annex added on the right

The main temple roof

One of the side alleyways

Baadshah - N.T. Rama Rao Jr (2013) - Jordan Road, Kwun Chung

Another random Hong Kong establishing shot from Baadshah shows the view looking west along Jordan Road, just past the junction with Nathan Road. Looking at this shot confirms to me that this is old stock footage because the large Yue Hwa sign hasn't been located here since when I first moved to Hong Kong in 2006. So I guess that clears that up about whether or not the footage was stock or not. The Yue Hwa store is still here, it's the flagship store. The lower image shows the view when you turn the camera 90 degrees to the left (i.e. looking south down Nathan Road).

Baadshah - N.T. Rama Rao Jr (2013) - Victoria Harbour

I've been a bit lax on the foreign film side, thanks to the bountiful supply of old Shaw movies on Youtube, so figured a foray back into overseas productions is a bit overdue. This next one is an Indian Telugu language movie called Baadshah. It's a comedy/action starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as the titular character who is the son of an Indian gangster helping his dad's boss to get money out of Macau. It's a long film and twisty-turny film and can be seen here.

Disclaimer, no part of the film was actually shot in Hong Kong despite a money heist sequence and dockyard action sequence supposedly being set here. The best we get is some general establishing shots just to remind us that no, this definitely is not India or Thailand, we are in Hong Kong as you can see by the fake MTR sign/dockyard crane writing. I can only assume the general establishing shots were stock footage, but am willing to concede that perhaps they are a product of a brief visit by a second unit cameraman whilst they main crew were filming in Bangkok?. If you know, feel free to comment.

Lou Lim Ioc Garden, Macau - Now and Then

I recently spent a very brief afternoon in Macau - I was on a 3-day trip to neighbouring Zhuhai and quickly popped in with the family to get some snaps of a few places for these comparison posts. First up is Lou Lim Ioc/Ieoc (last word is pronounced Yeoc, Macau romanises Cantonese "Y" sounds to "I") Garden. I have previously written "Ieoc" on my posts of this place, but I notice the official spelling is "Ioc".

The place is free to enter - as are most of these locations in Macau, and you can either go in through the main vehicle gateway on Estrada de Adolfo Loureiro (see the first images below for Game of Death) or enter through the tea museum (Casa Cultural de Chá de Macau) on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida. It's worth a look if you have the time and benefits from aircon on a hot day.

This location has been used copious amounts of times for both local and foreign movie productions. Perhaps the most famous local movie is Drunken Master where the venue stands in for Jackie Chan's kung fu school. Sadly, the main building was closed when we were there but I was still able to get this general picture of the area where Dean Shek tortures Chan with some rigid horse-stance training. The building in the background is not the main house, but a smaller annex building within the garden. I couldn't quite recreate the further back/higher angle of the movie because there are plants obscuring the view, so this is the best comparison for the time being. Andi has a more comprehensive Drunken Master post over on his blog.

Drunken Master (1978)

One of the main foreign productions to feature the garden more extensively is China Cry, released in 1990. The garden and its buildings stand in for the pre-war Shanghai home of Julia Nickson's character, Sung Neng Yee. The following moon gate is located on the left side of the building seen in the images above.

Moon gate/arch

This is a view of the rear of the main house

also the rear, but on the other side

The pavilion and bridge is located in the NE of the garden

Perhaps one of the better-known "foreign" movies shot here is the 1978 travesty that goes by the name of Game of Death. A film most Bruce Lee purists would rather was consigned to the bin. The only real change I noticed between 1978 and now, and even since the last time I visited about 10 years ago, is that the lily pond has been completely cleared of the lilies, so now it's just...a pond.

It looks like they still have the same wrought iron gates in place 

This is the same area where the main fight scene takes place

Okay, not the best match for the angle, but you get the idea

For the final comparison I've tried to replicate another view, this time from Tai Pan. The difference here is forty years - Tai Pan was released in 1986. In the film, this is the extravagant home of the main character, Dirk Struan (Bryan Brown). Quite a few scenes were shot here but in parts of the garden that have since been renovated/changed. This shot shows the side rear of the main property.

My Wife is a Gangster 3 - Shu Qi (2006) - Austin Road West, Kowloon

The film's final scenes, as Aryoung heads out to stop her Korean gangster love interest from leaving, was shot at the bend on Austin Road West. It's the same spot where SPL filmed a year or so previously, right in front of where the ICC building stands. Obviously the area has changed massively since this was filmed though with the addition of the waterfront art park, M+ museum etc.

My Wife is a Gangster 3 - Shu Qi (2006) - Freder Centre, Ma Tau Kok

Aryoung catches up with the gang boss on the roof of the Freder Centre at the top end of Ma Tau Kok. We've seen it before, quite some time ago, as a Police Station on the Strangers miniseries. The wasteland in the background is the cleared out former Kai Tak Airport site. Suffice to say that wastleand is now full of malls, new residential developments and Hong Kong's brand new (as of April 2025) Kai Tak Sports Park.

My Wife is a Gangster 3 - Shu Qi (2006) - Yau Kung Tong, Yuen Long

Aryoung heads to the wedding of a rival gang member in order to confront and kill their boss. This was all filmed at the oft-used Yau Kung Tong in Ha Tsuen in east Yuen Long District. It's one of the Tang Clan's ancestral halls and goes by the full name of 廈村鄧氏宗祠 (ha tsuen dang si jung chi - which basically translates as Ha Village Tang Clan Ancestral Hall - you can see why I usually shorten it to Yau Kung Tong, which I believe is an acceptable alternative name).

Quite a few films have been shot here over the years.

My Wife is a Gangster 3 - Shu Qi (2006) - Lei Yue Mun

Aryoung finds out about her father's attemtpted assassination and returns to Hong Kong to be with him. He is convalescing in a beachside hut in Lei Yue Mun. The concrete structure that Shu Qi is standing on was part of the infrastructure that was used when the area was being quarried (quarrying stopped here circa 1970). It's all abandoned now and just left to rot.