Senado Square & Kuan Tai Temple

For Macau's last post, after visiting the Ruins and the Fortress, we went to Senado Square which has been the center of Macau since the beginning, and plays host to many public events, festivities, and celebrations today. It's one of the largest squares in Macau. The pastel-colored neo-classical buildings on either side of the Square were built in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1993, the front of the Square was paved with black and white cobbles into a wavy pattern to help bring out the bright colors of the surrounding buildings and to enhance the Mediterranean atmosphere. There are shopping centers and traditional Chinese restaurants around the Square.

The first pic below is walking (about a five minute walk) to Senado Square and the other three were taken while there.

Located right outside the Square, down a little road or alley was a small temple we visited. Sam Kai Vui Kun Temple (Kuan Tai Temple) is situated on the site of the old Macau bazaar. Originally, it was a meeting place for merchants and was very important to the local Chinese community. Prior to the establishment of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Macau in 1912, the area surrounding the temple was the center of Chinese trading in Macau. After the decline of the bazaar, the temple rose to importance in this area. The location of this Chinese construction at the heart of the main city square with its predominately western-style architecture illustrates the harmonious coexistence of the two cultures. This temple is directly associated with long-standing Chinese business associations. In its modest-simplicity, elements of traditional Chinese treatment are embedded within, such as the yingshan-style roof, the recessed entrance gateway of the ling nan architectural trend, and the gray brick facade. Pics of the temple are below.

And that was pretty much it for our visit of Macau. We had lunch at a rather non-descript restaurant and tried to walk to another area of town that had other attractions but we got a little lost and decided to head back to the ferry so we could arrive back in Shenzhen at a reasonable hour. Not sure if I’ll return to Macau before I leave for good but there are still other sights there I would like to see...