Norwich Daily Photo

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

Macau: Ruins of St Paul’s

This is the Ruins of St Paul’s. Shame that the sky was overcast by the time I got there.

From Wiki:

The Ruins of St. Paul’s (Portuguese: Ruínas de São Paulo) refer to the façade of what was originally the Cathedral of St. Paul, a 17th century Portuguese cathedral in Macau dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle. Today, the ruins are one of Macau’s most famous landmarks. In 2005, the Ruins of St. Paul were officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.

Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the cathedral was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the cathedral the best gifts. With the decline in importance of Macau, which was overtaken as the main port for the Pearl River Delta by Hong Kong, the cathedral’s fortunes similarly ebbed, and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. The Fortaleza do Monte overlooks the ruin.

This is one of the very few Portuguese influences I found on the island!

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Macau: Senado Square

In the historic centre, one will find the Senado Square (Senate Square). The wave-patterned mosaic gives the square an interesting look. It’s completely pedestrianised and leads to the ruins of St Paul’s and a lot of shops.

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Macau: The Bridge

From the airport at night, one wouldn’t be able to contain their delight while crossing this bridge as it glows golden in the dark.

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Macau: A-Ma Temple

This is the A-Ma Temple, which was unfortunately closed by the time I got there. I had to content myself with photos from the outside of it.

The Macau A-Ma temple was built in the 15th century, also called Barra Temple, is situated halfway up the western slope of Barra Hill.
This chinese temple consists of the Gate Pavilion, the Memorial Arch, the Prayer Hall, the Hall of Benevolence, the Hall of Guanyin, and Zhengjiao Chanlin (a Buddhist pavilion), each forming a small part of the well-ordered complex which sits in perfect harmony with the natural environment.

A-ma Temple is the oldest temple of Macao. Built during the period of Chenghua Reign in the middle age of the Ming Dynasty as said, it has a history of over five hundred years.

When was the last time you visited a temple?

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Macau: Las Vegas Lights

Today begins a weeklong visit to Macau (which I visited in June). The Portuguese claimed this island about 400 years ago, but barring the Portuguese streetnames (which also have Chinese translations) and a few buildings, I was hard put to find any Portuguese influence in the city.

The photo above reminded me more of Las Vegas than Portugal.

Above is the Wynn Hotel, which was quite pretty when all its lights came on. It changes its colours by going through ROYGBIV – the rainbow!