2787 CHINA (Macau) - Guia Fortress - part of Historic Centre of Macau (UNESCO WHS)

2787 Macau - Capela de Nossa Senhora da Guia
and Guia Lighthouse at the Guia Fortress.

The Guia Fortress is a 17th-century colonial military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex, located in the St. Lazarus Parish, in Macau Peninsula. The fort was constructed between 1622 and 1638, after an unsuccessful attempt by the Netherlands to capture colonial Portuguese Macau. Inside the fortress stands Guia Chapel, originally established by Clarist nuns, who resided at the site before establishing the Convent of St. Clare. Its elaborate frescoes depict representations of both western and Chinese themes, displaying motifs of religious and mythological inspiration that are a perfect example of Macao's multicultural dimension.

CHINA (Macau) - Historic Centre of Macau (UNESCO WHS)

It's said that in the 16th century, when the Portuguese landed at the coast of South China Sea, somewhere between the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) estuary and the Xi Jiang (West River), just outside the A-Ma Temple (dedicated to Matsu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen) and asked the name of the place, the natives replied with the name of the temple, so the name of the peninsula remained Macau. And because natives have proven polite, and the port was well placed, the Portuguese decided to remain and to trade, paying an annual rent.

0467 CHINA (Macau) - Macau Tower and Sai Van Bridge

After two postcards with historical sights in Macau (Ruins of St. Paul's and the Senate Square), behold now one which shows the modern image of the city, namely Sai Van Bridge (Ponte de Sai Van) and Macau Tower (Torre de Macau). The bridge, the third one which connects Taipa Island and Macau Peninsula, is a cable-stayed bridge and measures 2.2 kilometers long. Inaugurated in 2004, it features a double-deck design, with an enclosed lower deck to be used in the event of strong typhoons when the other two bridges , namely Ponte Governador Nobre de Carvalho and Ponte de Amizade, are closed.

0277 CHINA (Macau) - Senado Square - part of Historic Centre of Macao (UNESCO WHS)

The Senado Square (Largo do Senado) is an area in the centre of the city of Macau, enclosed by the buildings of the Leal Senado (the seat of government during the Portuguese domination), the General Post Office, and St. Dominic's Church (in which is a museum of paintings, sculptures and liturgical ornaments that illustrate the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Asia). The square was paved in the early 1990s by Portuguese craftsmans (calceteiros) with a wave-patterned mosaic of coloured stones, in the famous traditional Portuguese style.

0243 CHINA (Macau) - Ruins of St. Paul's - part of Historic Centre of Macau (UNESCO WHS)

The Ruins of St. Paul's (Ruínas de São Paulo / Sam Ba Sing Tzik) is one of Macau's most famous landmarks. The complex comprise what was originally St. Paul's College and the Church of St. Paul also known as "Mater Dei", a Portuguese church dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle, built between 1582 and 1602 by the Jesuits, and destroyed by a fire that started in the kitchen of the college in 1835. The ruins consist of the southern granite façade, which sits on a small hill, with 68 stone steps leading up to it, and the crypts of the Jesuits.