Berlitz: Hong Kong Pocket Guide by Berlitz

Author:Berlitz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Hong Kong
Publisher: APA
Published: 2014-08-22T04:00:00+00:00

Macau’s Maritime Museum exhibits

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

Macau’s oldest museum, the Maritime Museum (www.museumaritimo.gov.mo; Wed–Mon 10am–6pm; charge) traces the history of Macau’s connection to the sea. Exhibits cover fishing, seaborne trade and sea transport, and there is an aquarium. The museum also offers boat tours aboard a fishing junk.

The museum is almost on the spot where the Portuguese first landed. When they came ashore they found the A-Ma Temple (properly called Ma Kok Temple; daily dawn–dusk), dedicated to the favourite goddess of fishermen, who is also known as Tin Hau. The area was called A-Ma Gau (Bay of A-Ma), which is the source of Macau’s name. The ornate, picturesque temple dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and is the oldest building in Macau.

The strategically located Barra Fortress once defended the southern tip of the peninsula. Although not completed until 1627, it was instrumental in defending Macau’s inner harbour against the 1622 attack by the Dutch. Used only once, the fort’s cannons were exchanged for rice to feed World War II refugees. Part of the fortress is now a hotel, the Pousada de Sao Tiago, which contains the original chapel of Sao Tiago (St James), a saint much revered in the area.

The northernmost point in Macau is the frontier between two contrasting worlds. The Barrier Gate (Portas do Cerco), built more than a century ago, marks the boundary between the MSAR and the People’s Republic of China.

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