China Cry - Julian Nickson (1990) - Calçada Do Carmo, Taipa

In a very brief scene we see the heavily pregnant main character walking home up a rather steep slope. This slope is the Calçada Do Carmo that connects the Carmel Church terrace with the Rua Direita Carlos Eugénio below.

These days it has been turned into a very picturesque stone staircase, but before redevelopment it was just a cobbled slope with steps only at the very top.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Tao Fung Shan, Shatin

As the main character recalls her childhood schooling, we are treated to flashbacks of her attending what is supposed to be a Christian school in Shanghai but was in fact filmed at at place very familiar to readers of this blog: Tao Fung Shan. The bonus this time is we get a quick peak inside (what I believe to be) the large pagoda seen at the back of the top picture.

China Cry - Julian Nickson (1990) - Yau Kung Tong, Yuen Long

The secret place where the main character goes for her clandestine Christian gatherings is another familiar location to us because we've already seen it twice on this blog. It's the Yau Kung Tong in Yuen Long previously seen in Shadow of China and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.

As noted in previous posts, this white wall surrounding the outer courtyard has since been demolished but I have no idea why or what has replaced it.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Jardin Luis De Camoes, Macau

Here's a place that will be familiar to Bruce Lee fans. It's the Jardin Luis De Camoes - a park whose gates were made famous during Lee's Fist of Fury when he is told "No Dogs or Chinese" are allowed to enter. We don't see the gates this time but we do get to see the small area just the other side of them. The park is actually fairly extensive and this area is just the entrance. The benches are still around, as are the magnificent large banyan trees, but this section also now contains some rather incongruous bright yellow oldies' exercise equipment - I guess no one does Tai Chi anymore.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Rua Direita Carlos Eugénio, Taipa

More of the bike ride, this time back over on Taipa on a rather quaint little road that appears to have two names. The first name which seems to apply to the western end of it is Rua Direita Carlos Eugénio but it then morphs into Rua Fernão Mendes Pinto as it travels east.

Anyway, regardless, this road is probably most famous for being the site of the Iec Long Fabrica De Panchoes which I wrote about a good few years ago over on the old blog. It was one of the more interesting places I have talked about, so I transferred the article when I changed blog sites. You can read it here.

I haven't been over in a while so I don't know what the Macau Govt is going to do about the rather large site, but I'm hoping it has/will be renovated rather than redeveloped. If anyone has any more recent information then please let me know ion the comments.

Anyway, here are a couple of the screen caps followed by the Streetview so you can compare the difference of 20+years.

The yellow colour of the wall has sadly faded to white, but at least the Chinese characters that adorn it have aged fairly well. The section of wall in the Streetview is the same one they are riding past in the second picture - you can see the characters match on the wall behind. The wall is actually part of the perimeter of the old firecracker factory.

A few metres further down the road and the couple go past some old buildings. Sadly it looks as though the only survivor these days is the one in the middle directly behind Julia Nickson's head. The two either side have already been demolished, although the side wall of the closest one to camera seems to be still standing.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Avenida da Republica, Macau

Another stop on the whirlwind bike tour of Macau is the Avenida da Republica. In this scene the two stop as a group of Communist soldiers on exercise run past (led by British Chinese actor Philip Tan). The place they stop is actually right in front of where the former Bela Vista Hotel (now the Portuguese Consulate's residence) stands. You can see the hotel's terrace wall on the right had side of the second screen grab.

This was before the extensive reclamation work that created Sai Van and Nam Van lakes from former sea area.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Avenida da Praia, Taipa

The pair of lovers embark on a bike ride that takes them seemingly all over Macau (though don't forget we are actually still supposed to be in Shanghai). This reminds me of the fact that Macau has stood in for Shanghai on a couple of occasions on this blog previously - for Fist of Fury, Shanghai Surprise and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Anyway, part of this bike ride takes place a few metres away from the location of this post along the road that is more famous for being the location of the Taipa Houses Museum: Avenida da Praia*

The top picture shows that although all the houses along the strip are now nicely restored, it wasn't always the case with the one on the right hand side looking quite unloved. The lower picture is actually from a later scene with Nickson looking over towards what would have been Coloane on the other side of a body of water. These days she would be staring straight into the Cotai Strip.

* Some maps refer to this as Avenida da Praia, Google calls it the Estrada de Cacilhas.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Palácio do Governador, Macau

These days it's the HQ of the Macau Government (Sede do Governo da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China) but before the 1999 handover to China (two years after Hong Kong's) it was the Palácio do Governador - the official residence of the Macau Governor.

In China Cry it is supposed to be a concert hall where the two protagonists go on their first date to see a classical music performance.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Calcada das Chacaras, Macau

A couple of brief scenes supposedly showing the area around the family's compound was actually filmed at the southern end of the Macau peninsula near to Penha Church. The street is a small one not far from the Riviera Hotel called Calcada das Chacaras.

There's been a bit of redevelopment on the hilltop at the back and a lick of paint but it still looks pretty much the same as it was. You can judge for yourself from the following Streetview grab.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Avenida de Carlos da Maia, Taipa

We're up to the top of the hill this time and looking along the small road that runs alongside the Carmel Church. It's called the Avenida de Carlos da Maia and looks pretty much the same on the current Streetview (posted underneath). Although look closely and you'll see that a lot has been done to tidy the area up - shame about the tree not being there though.

The Macau authorities also did a nice job tidying up the Biblioteca opposite the church.

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Dra. Laurinda M. Esparteiro Garden, Taipa

Here's a location that should be familiar to Jackie Chan fans. It's the garden that lies at the bottom of the hill below the Carmel Church in Taipa and has a set of steps running down it that JC athletically jumps down (when he could still do that stuff) and turns around only to find his girlfriend still stuck at the top. Here's a reminder.

In China Cry it's where Julia Nickson is riding along after school and witnesses some Communist brutality against a priest and some nuns. 

This is still one of the more pleasant places to visit in Macau if you get the time and thankfully hasn't changed so much (unlike the view to the south - off camera to the left - which is now chockablock with gaudy tacky resort casinos).

China Cry - Julia Nickson (1990) - Lou Lim Ieoc Garden, Macau

Time for a new film, another one with Russell Wong but this time it's Julia Nickson who takes the lead. She's been on this blog before as Orlanda Ramos in Noble House but this time she takes on the role of real life Christian author, Nora Lam in a retelling of her life in China during the Cultural Revolution.

The majority of this film seems to have been shot in Macau although there are a few Hong Kong locations as well. We start off with one of Macau's most popular filming locations (which we have already seen being used in Tai Pan and Game of Death 1978 but if you are smart then you also follow Andi's blog and will know it featured in a whole bunch of old kung fu films including Drunken Master, Pedicab Driver, Legend of a Fighter etc).

Anyway, in China Cry the property and its lovely garden are supposed the be the Shanghai house where Nora Lam's character lives as a child before being ousted during the Japanese occupation.