The Historic Centre of Macao (, ) is a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique assimilation and co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, a former Portuguese colony. It represents the architectural legacies of the city's cultural heritage, including monuments such as urban squares, streetscapes, churches and temples. In 2005 the Historic Centre of Macau was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

, making it the 31st designated World Heritage Site in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It was described by UNESCO as: "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," and "...it bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on the vibrancy of international trade." Macau - Fortaleza de Guia

List of sites

The Historic Centre of Macao is made up of two separated core zones in city centre on the

Macau peninsula The Macau Peninsula is the historical and most populous part of Macau. It has an area of () and is geographically connected to Guangdong Province at the northeast through an isthmus wide. The peninsula, together with downtown Zhuhai, sits on ...

. Each core zone is surrounded by a buffer zone.

Zone 1

The narrow-stripped Zone 1 is located between Mount Hill and Barra Hill.The Map, Historic Centre of Macao
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Buildings

Squares

Zone 2

The Zone is surrounded by a buffer zone that covers a park and immediate urban area. *

Guia Fortress The Guia Fortress (; ) is a 17th-century colonial military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex in São Lázaro, Macau. The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau. The view of the fortress and the lighthous ...

incorporating Guia Chapel and Guia Lighthouse

Management

Most of the items (buildings) are owned by the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) and managed by various departments or authority.

Cultural Affairs Bureau Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

of the SAR Government manages the Mandarin's House, the Ruins of St. Paul's, the Section of the Old Wall, Mount Fortress and Guia Fortress (includes the Lighthouse and Chapel). Leal Senado Building is managed by the

Municipal Affairs Bureau The Municipal Affairs Bureau (; ) of Macau is an administrative body without political powers responsible for providing certain civic services for the special administrative region and is the successor to the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bure ...

(IAM) while the two government-owned temples, A-Ma Temple and Na Tcha Temple are managed by the Board of A-Ma Temple Charity Association and management board of Na Tcha Temple respectively. The Moorish Barracks is managed by the Marine and Water Bureau. The rest of the items are owned and managed by the respective institutions. St. Joseph's Seminary Building and Church is owned by St. Joseph's Seminary and managed by the Catholic Diocese of Macao. The Holy House of Mercy Building is owned and managed by Holy House of Mercy Charitable Foundation. Dom Pedro V Theatre is owned and managed by the management board of Dom Pedro V Theatre. The nominated buildings of the Historic Centre are protected by various laws, including the Basic Law of the Macao SAR.

Controversy

In 2007, local residents of Macao wrote a letter to

complaining about construction projects around the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Guia Lighthouse (Focal height 108 meters), including the headquarter of the

Macau Liaison Office The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region is the representative office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in Macau. Under the system "one institution with two names", ...

(91 meters). UNESCO then issued a warning to the Macau government, which led former Chief Executive

Edmund Ho Edmund Ho Hau Wah, GML, GCM, GOIH (born 13 March 1955) is a Macau politician who served as the first Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region from 1999 to 2009. He currently serves as a Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Peopl ...

to sign a notice regulating height restrictions on buildings around the site. In 2015, the

New Macau Association The New Macau Association (AMN) is a major pro-democratic political party in the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Macau. The party was established in 1992 and the founding chairman was António Ng Kuok Cheong, who departed from the the ...

submitted a report to

claiming that the government had failed to protect Macao's cultural heritage against threats by urban development projects. One of the main examples in the report is the headquarters of the

Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region is the representative office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in Macau. Under the system "one institution with two names", ...

, which is located on the Guia foothill and obstructs the view of the

(one of the

world heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s symbols of Macao). One year later, Roni Amelan, a spokesman from UNESCO Press service, said that the UNESCO has asked China for information and is still waiting for a reply. In 2016, the Macau government approved an 81-meter construction limit for the residential project, which reportedly goes against the city's regulations on the height of buildings around the World Heritage Site Guia Lighthouse. Professor at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Dr. Ming K.Chan () and professor at

University of Macau The University of Macau (UM or UMAC) is a public comprehensive research university in Macau. The university campus is located in Hengqin, Hengqin Island, Zhuhai, Guangdong, on a piece of land leased to and under the jurisdiction of the Governmen ...

Dr. Eilo Yu () commented the Guia Lighthouse case proved that the Macao government had ignored the conservation of heritage in urban planning.

References

External links

Official websiteInformation from the website of UNESCO World Heritage Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Historic Centre Of Macau World Heritage Sites in China