Macao’s Rua da Felicidade – 1900 – Every House a Bordello

In 1900 Macao’s brothels were generally dirty and run by notoriously rough Eurasian pimps and Lisbon Madams who were known for hooking the girls on opium and for importing kidnapped or trafficked young Portuguese girls. The Rua de Felicidade (suitably named Happiness Street in English) was a narrow lane where every house was thought to be a bordello. The street was close to the historic centre of the enclave near the otherwise respectable Lenal Senado square where the better class of Europeans in Macao took their evening promenades.

Today, Rua de Felicidade is a touristy shopping street (within the UNESCO World Heritage site of Macao) with a few shophouses with traditional red louvers left. Those who watch Hollywood films  may recognize the street from Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Doom.