Chowder of Culture and Heritage

^The Senado Square is in a trianglar layout typical to the time-honoured western culture as can be seen in the ancient Greek and Roman city sites. There was a religious purpose in making the piazza triangular in layout because in the old western culture, triangles were taken to be a device which stored mystical powers. Here the photo expresses the curves and patterns of the piazza instead.

The oldness of Macau is best epitomised by its heritage sites. If you are new to this series of posts, Macau is a small town once a Portuguese colony and now a special administrative region of China's sovereignty. It is situated at the estuary of the Pearl River south of China, and is just some 45 minutes ride on a catamaran from Hong Kong.

^The Ruins of St. Paul's in the background is ubiquituous on postcards about Macau's places. The ruins compose of the facade of what was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602 - 1640, destroyed by fire in 1835, and the ruins of St. Paul's College stood adjacent ot he Church.

The must-go destinations are within Macau's Historic Centre, which encompasses architectural legacies interwoven in the midst of the original urban fabric including streetscapes and piazzas. These major urban squares and streetscapes provide the linkage for a succession of over twenty architectural monuments, giving the place an aura of some European land.

^Taipan House Museum, once the residence for high-ranking Portuguese officials in Macau. Construciton in the background is for new casinos. Macau is now infested with casinos in the busiest parts of the town.

In 2005, the Historic Centre of Macau was inscribed as a World Heritage Site, making it the 31st site in China to be granted the same status.

^The inside of the Leal Senado (Loyal Senate) Building completed in 1784, which used to be Macau's first municipal chamber. The view from this angel tells of another western cultural element which is symmetry. The occident idea of symmetry has a huge influence on many aspects of the western society from building to music. The oriental version of the idea is balance instead. Balance can be achieved without symmetry, observeable in the way the eastern way of dealing with people and matters which tend to be not equally fair but mutually beneficial.

World Heritage is the designation for places around the world which are of outstanding universal value to humanity and as such, have acoording to the Convention Concerning Protection of the World Culture and Natural Heritage been inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee to be protected for the future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

^The patterns on the wall of teh Leal Senado Building remind me of those on the bluish-white porcelain vessels which the imperial Chinese dynasties sold to the Middle East in the ancient times. In those days, the Chinese procelain makers mimicked the favourite drawings from the Middle East, which resemble most to the flower patterns on the edges in the photo above.