Historic Macau

Did you know that friendly relations existed between the Portuguese and Chinese centuries ago? Yup, those in the Ming Dynasty liked the Portuguese because they aided China in eliminating coastal pirates in the early 1500s. As a result, the Portuguese were allowed to settle permanently in Macau as evidenced by its influence on architecture and cuisine.

Fast forward to 1949, after the Second World War, when the Chinese communists came to power and wanted Macau back under its wing. Beijing was not ready at the time to settle the treaty question and therefore agreed to leave Macau in the hands of the Portuguese until a later time, as they did with Britain's Hong Kong territory.

It wasn't until May 1986 when four rounds of talks between Portugal and China led to the signing of an agreement that gave Macau back to China in 1999. In the agreement, the People's Republic of China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be practiced in Macau and it would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs until at least 2049, fifty years after the handover.

European influence is detected when walking the streets of Macau. One example is the first home the governor built in 1846 together with many buildings in the downtown core.

The Santa Casa da Misericordia (or Macau Holy House of Mercy), while built some 400 years ago, still exists and operates today offering medical, social and financial assistance to the underprivileged as guided by Christian principle. There are other indicators of Portuguese influence, such as a statue of Jorge Alvarez, the first Portuguese explorer to reach China in the early 1500s.

As well as being an important trading post, Macau was a center of activity for Catholic missionaries. This influence has dwindled over the years as can be seen by the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral where the facade was left standing (unsupported) after the rest of the building burned down!

What a visual reminder of what was important in centuries past in contrast to where we stand today, for just the facade remains with no attempt to rebuild the cathedral behind. In fact, I appreciated when our tour guide made note that Jesus our Lord was replaced by the god of the modern economy and glitz. Cisco pointed to the flashy sky scrapers not far from the ruins, something I was thinking but didn't imagine I would hear from someone else.

I don't often write a review about a tour but I felt it was appropriate this time. Hopefully my thoughts will give others something to consider when visiting Macau in the future...?

There was an exceptionally large crowd in front of the St Paul's facade the day we were there, including street performers and celebrations in honor of the Macau Grand Prix that was to take place.

The crowded streets did not detract us from heading over to a local bakery to pick up some traditional Portuguese egg tarts that came straight from the oven. If you haven't tried one, I suggest you do!