WHS#68

Macao is a true melting pot between the east and west. Everything, from its architecture of Baroque churches alongside Chinese temples to its road signs in Cantonese and Portuguese to its famous Macanese cuisine, exudes the true essence of fusion, and in the most colorful ways too. Just taking a taxi ride through its streets, the great variety of colors and styles of buildings was astounding to the eye and yearning to be explored. And don't forget to try all of the street food. Fish balls, dumplings, jerky, milk tea, and the renowned egg tarts are all available in the streets around the heavily touristed historic center. If you decide on a sit-down restaurant, be sure to try the many dishes of African, Indian, Portuguese, and Cantonese flavors. Okay, enough about food, let's talk history. Macao was one of the first European outposts in Eastern Asia, settled by the Portuguese and only given back to China in the 1990s. The great thing about it is that instead of the Portuguese culture, religion, and language wiping out that of the natives, both the colonial and local cultures have thrived there and are manifested in the historic center and its people today.

I went to Macao in May 2018 on a day trip from Hong Kong by ferry, which takes about an hour.
My first stop was Guia Fortress, some distance away from the historic center itself. It's up on a hill, and a vehicle can only take you up to a short hiking path full of people exercising. I had to walk a bit higher up a paved road before arriving at the entrance to the fortress. The fort itself isn't really anything remarkable, but at the top are the scenic Guia Lighthouse and its chapel. This chapel was probably the most beautiful single monument I saw on my day in Macao. The exteriors of the chapel and lighthouse are simple, painted white with some gold lines, but the interior is full of old ceiling and wall frescoes. It's strictly no photography inside, though. The frescoes were preserved because they were covered, probably by plaster, until they were uncovered by restoration work in the 1990s. They're impressively colorful and vivid for their age. The lack of other tourists was also a big plus. It's definitely a (literally high) highlight on a visit to Macao.

On the taxi ride coming into the center, however, is really where the essence of Macao starts to show itself. The buildings are all centuries old, yet painted in bright hues of mint green, golden brown, light yellow, white, orange, pink, and red, accompanied by business signs in Chinese characters. Yellow and green seem to be the favorites, especially for the many churches that dot the city. The most famous one, though, Sao Paulo, is bare in color. Actually, bare in everything as it’s in ruin. The façade is probably the most famous site in Macao, and it’s the most touristic area. But it’s not without reason, the carved façade left behind is chock-full of little details. The design is extremely intricate and shows many Oriental and European motifs. In the heat of midday, however, I could only really make out the huge saint statues before the Sun started to burn. At the back is the crypt, which contains some relics, religious items, and the foundations of the building. The streets at the base of the ruins are the most fun part of the visit. The heat of June got me gulping some milk tea. The food choices there are amazing, though they might be selling at the tourist price.

A short walk away is the Sao Domingos Church. It’s got such a graceful baroque façade, but it’s painted a bright yellow with green windows and doors. The interior is like a withheld Churrigueresque, full of gentle curves and twists, yet having an overall simple, almost austere, look, as the colors are a bit lighter and less bold inside. Ahead is the famous and crowded Largo do Senado, surrounded by various historic buildings and modern malls alike. I continued walking south and uphill to the Largo do Agostinho, far away from the crowds. This was like a small Brazilian town’s square, if not for the Chinese apartment blocks nearby. The yellow Sao Agostinho Church and the green Dom Pedro V Theater’s facades actually face away from the square, which is a strange thing to note. Sao Agostinho’s façade reminded me of churches back in the Philippines, a simpler square body with a pediment on top. I entered the theater to find it was a very western-style neoclassical theater, much like those found in Europe and the Americas, but smaller. Nevertheless, this is a great little corner of the historic center to explore.

My last stop was the place that started it all, A-ma Temple. Having seen many Chinese temples before, I honestly wasn’t too impressed with the architecture. However, it’s amazing how this is still a working temple after over 5 centuries of use. It contains the actual oldest structure in Macao and is essentially the birthplace of this wonderful city. It also has a nice atmosphere being a bit farther from the center on a hillside. After the temple, I went on to the Venetian, as requested by my family, before returning back home to Hong Kong.

Macao is really this cultural anomaly. It’s the only place where European and Chinese heritage fuses and manifests itself at this level of impressiveness and integrity. Yes, the modern city does encroach the historic center a bit, and skyscrapers can be seen at several points within the WHS, but I think that misses the point. Macao isn’t a trip back in time. It’s a trip to its own special world. A world of patacas, pastel baroque architecture, Cantonese speakers, ancient frescoes, churches beside temples, African chicken, milk tea, and egg tarts. A world of its own – that’s what Macao is, and that’s why it’s so special.