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This is the second in a series of articles about Macau, a Special Administrative Region of
the People’s Republic of China. As with the show The House of Dancing Water , we took
too many great photos of the Historic Centre of Macao (the Portuguese spelling of Macau)
to include all of them in my upcoming list of the Top Ten Things to Savor in Macau. It
merits its own post with a full photo collage.
The colonial area of the city with its mix of Portuguese and Chinese influences was
designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005. According to UNESCO, "with its
historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the
Historic Centre of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic,
cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West.”
The Centre stretches over
several square kilometers in
two zones: one between
Barra Hill to the west andMount Hill in the center, and
the other to the east
encompassing the Guia
Fortress, Guia Chapel, and
Guia Lighthouse. The first
zone boasts 20 monuments
of special significance to the
blending of eastern and
western influences harkening
back to Macau’s days as a
Portuguese colony. A
complete list is at the end of
this article.
During our trip to Macau in April 2012, we visited the monuments near Mount Hill.
They’re shown in the map above. Starting at Senado Square (10 on the map), we walked
to Mount Fortress (21), the Ruins of St. Paul’s (29), and back to the square. The small
area was packed with things to see and made a great daytime walking tour. Unfortunately,
time and weather did not permit us to see the other sites in the Centre -- perhaps during a
future visit.
We started at the Mount Fortress (Fortaleza do Monte in Portuguese). The hilltop fortresswas built in 1626 by the Jesuits to defend themselves from attack. The colonial
government seized it after Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Jesuits’ Order, the Society of
Jesus, in 1773, and the Jesuits departed. It served for many years as the residence of the
governors of Macau and a military fort. It is now home to the Museum of Macau. You can
almost hear echoes of the city’s colonial past near the cannons on the ramparts. The
beautiful garden offers panoramic views of the old city.
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Next to the Ruins of St. Paul’s is the nondescript Na Tcha Temple, a Buddhist and Taoist
temple built in 1888 to honor the Taoist deity of protection, Na Tcha. Perhaps just as
significant is the red- brown wall behind the temple that’s reportedly one of the last
standing sections of the Old Wall of Macau destroyed by the Chinese in 1622.
We walked down the steps of the Ruins of St. Paul’s to the intersection of Rua de Sao
Paulo and Rua de Santo Antonio, where the shopping district of the Historic Centre of
Macao began. Heading away from St. Paul’s, Rua de Santo Antonio became a
cobblestone pedestrian street that headed to Senado Square.
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At the base of the steps was an interesting statue depicting a
Caucasian man and Asian woman that apparently signified the
union of eastern and western influences in Macau. In an eternal
pose the woman offers the man a lotus flower, and the man
accepts with an open hand.
As we made our way through the Centre’s shopping district, we
saw a variety of western and Asian storefronts sprouting from
colorful Portuguese-style colonial buildings with signs in
Chinese, English, and Portuguese. It was an interesting melding
of the old and new. Most tourists here were Chinese drawn by
the excellent shopping opportunities.
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Near the junction of Rua de Santo Antonio and Rua Sao Domingos, we passed by the
beautiful St. Dominic's Church. Originally built in 1587, the baroque interior is worth a
look-see.
Turning a corner, we entered Senado Square, or Senate Square, the heart of historic
Macau. The square was paved with a colorful mosaic of cobblestones surrounding a
contemporary fountain bedecked with a metallic globe. The Leal Senado, General Post
Office, the Santa Casa de Misercordia (Holy House of Mercy), a Portuguese charity, and
other colonial buildings bordered the square.
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The monuments described above are only some of the significant ones in the Historic
Centre of Macao. Others include (from Wikipedia):
A-Ma Temple
Moorish Barracks
Lilau Square
Mandarin's House
St Lawrence's Church
St. Joseph's Seminary and Church
St. Augustine's Square
Dom Pedro V Theatre
Sir Robert Ho Tung Library
St. Augustine's Church
Sam Kai Vui Kun (Kuan Tai Temple)
Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady
Lou Kau Mansion St. Anthony's Church
Casa Garden
Old Protestant Cemetery and the old
headquarters of the British East Indies
Company
The walking tour from Mount Fortress to Senado Square is accessible by foot and takes
about half a day. If you’re planning a trip to Macau, take your time and set aside at least
two days to visit the Historic Centre.
M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery,
thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel
adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go
Over the Hill , a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain. His collection of
short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories
available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com. He lives in
Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.
For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at
www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact himat [email protected] , on Facebook , on Google+ , or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.
© 2012 Brilliance Press. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or
transmitted without the written consent of the author .