Walking inside the Yick Loong firecracker factory is like stepping into a ghost town, where remnants of an era when Macau led the world in pyrotechnics production are everywhere - albeit overgrown by shrubs and trees.
Inside one half-collapsed hut, dishes are still stacked in a sink. In the warehouse, boxes of labels (all in English, since the goods were bound for the US) still sit stacked and ready for use. A boat remains sunken in the canal that was once used to transport goods to ships bound for foreign harbours.
The company began in Guangdong province before moving to Macau, where several firecracker factories were in operation. A factory explosion in 1925 caused massive casualties and led the government to stop issuing firecracker production licences, forcing as many as eight companies to relocate to uninhabited Taipa Island.
Yick Loong, which opened on Taipa in 1928, was the largest and the only one that stands today.
The owner, Tang Yeoc-tong, leased the land, which was formerly a shipyard, from the then-Portuguese government for 50 years. In 1992, the lease was officially cancelled and the land is now owned by the SAR.
At its peak, almost 2,000 workers were employed at Yick Loong, many from Guangdong province. Young women were hired for their small and nimble hands that could work with such delicate material.