Heritage sites of China-Historic Centre of Macau

The historic centre of Macao lists a total of 25 heritage sites. A very impressive figure for a territory of only 29 square kilometres


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Date of Inscription: 2005
Criteria: (ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)
Property : 16.1678 ha
Buffer zone: 106.7910 ha
Macao Special Administrative Region
N22 11 28.651 E113 32 11.26
Ref: 1110

Brief Description
Macao, a lucrative port of strategic importance in the development of international trade, was under Portuguese administration from the mid-16th century until 1999, when it came under Chinese sovereignty. 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. The site also contains a fortress and a lighthouse, the oldest in China. It bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on the vibrancy of international trade.


澳门历史城区
澳门是一个繁华兴盛的港口，在国际贸易发展中有着重要的战略地位。从16世纪中叶开始，澳门就处于葡萄牙统治之下，直到1999年中国对澳门恢复行使主权。澳门历史城区保留着葡萄牙和中国风格的古老街道、住宅、宗教和公共建筑，见证了东西方美学、文化、建筑和技术影响力的交融。城区还保留了一座堡垒和一座中国最古老的灯塔。此城区是在国际贸易蓬勃发展的基础上，中西方交流最早且持续沟通的见证。
Source: UNESCO/BPI

Justification for Inscription

Criterion (ii): The strategic location of Macao on the Chinese territory, and the special relationship established between the Chinese and Portuguese authorities favoured an important interchange of human values in the various fields of culture, sciences, technology, art and architecture over several centuries.

Criterion (iii): Macao bears a unique testimony to the first and longest-lasting encounter between the West and China. From the 16th to the 20th centuries, it was the focal point for traders and missionaries, and the different fields of learning. The impact of this encounter can be traced in the fusion of different cultures that characterise the historic core zone of Macao.

Criterion (iv): Macao represents an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble that illustrates the development of the encounter between the Western and Chinese civilisations over some four and half centuries, represented in the historical route, with a series of urban spaces and architectural ensembles, that links the ancient Chinese port with the Portuguese city.

Criterion (vi): Macao has been associated with the exchange of a variety of cultural, spiritual, scientific and technical influences between the Western and Chinese civilisations. These ideas directly motivated the introduction of crucial changes in China, ultimately ending the era of imperial feudal system and establishing the modern republic.