Largo do Senado

In front of the conference hall is located opposite to the headquarters of the civil affairs department. The whole square is paved with rubble in a wavy shape. The nearby road has been turned into a pedestrian area with benches around. Therefore, people like to gather here for chatting and leisure. In the center of the square stands a fountain, which is also a symbol here. Today, the water fountain is decorated with a celestial globe which symbolizes the Portuguese maritime expedition. At night, it is equipped with lighting effect to make the pavilion colorful.

There are many shops here. From the past to the present, it is a prosperous business district. Moreover, there are many hand mail shops to attract tourists to come here for shopping.

Largo do Senado

Largo do Senado, commonly known as "Fountain", is a square in Macao. It is located in the central area of Macao Peninsula, with an area of 3700 square meters. It is one of the four major squares in Macao. In front of the assembly hall, it is adjacent to banzhangtang in the north and Xinma road in the south. It is wide in the South and narrow in the north, forming a long and narrow triangle. It is a lively commercial and cultural activity area.

Naming source

The venue in front of the Convention Pavilion is named after its location in the Convention Pavilion (the predecessor of Macao's City Hall). On the left side of the current venue is the Longji restaurant, which is named after its location in front of the Macao Convention (now the building of the General Administration of Civil Affairs) which was the meeting body of Chinese officials and Portuguese people since the Ming Dynasty. In the 1970s, a new fountain was built in the center of the square, also known as "Fountain" by local residents. Since its opening, the venue in front of the convention hall has always been the center of Macao, where many festivals and celebrations have been held.

In front of the assembly hall is located in the central area of Macao. The governor of Macao, who has always been in office, must hold a ceremony here,

Review the army stationed in Macao. In front of the conference hall is located opposite to the headquarters of the civil affairs department. The whole square is paved with rubble in a wavy shape. The nearby road has been turned into a pedestrian area with benches around. Therefore, people like to gather here for rest and leisure.

Historical evolution

In 1869, the place in front of the assembly hall was named because it was in front of the assembly hall.

In 1938, red and green grass was replanted to form a trapezoidal pattern with a huge cross embedded in it. It was like the national emblem of Portugal and a neutral lamp post.

From 1940 on, a bronze statue was erected. It was not until the 1970s that the fountain was rebuilt.

In 1940, a bronze statue of Maersk, a Portuguese officer who attacked Qianshan fort and killed soldiers of the Qing Dynasty, was erected. During the cultural revolution, the statue was pulled down by the Chinese people and rebuilt into a fountain.

In 1993, a new fountain was replaced. The ground was paved with black and white gravel inlaid with wavy patterns, which is beautiful and interesting.

In 2005, as part of Macao's historical city, it was listed in the world cultural heritage list.

Existing buildings

It was originally a place where officials of the Ming Dynasty discussed trade with Macao Portuguese and dealt with residence matters. Later, it gradually evolved into today's city hall, and its buildings have been completely changed. The buildings around the meeting hall have not changed much in the past 70 years. The appearance of the old buildings is still the same, including the city hall and the mercy hall. Although the power company demolishes and rebuilds the existing site, the old appearance of the external walls is still preserved. However, the area of pedestrian recreation area is constantly changing.

In the center of the square stands a fountain, which is also a symbol here. The buildings in the square are rebuilt or redecorated, including the Department of tourism, post office and mercy hall, the oldest charity in Asia.

The buildings around the meeting hall are very European, and many of them have been rated as monuments and buildings with architectural art value. The facade of a building listed as a cultural relic shall not be altered, but only the interior structure. In the early 1990s, the Australian and Portuguese governments paid more money to hire Portuguese technicians to pave the front floor and the connected street floor with black and white Portuguese stones, making it a pedestrian area with Portuguese urban style. Now, in addition to the places that tourists must visit, the front of the convention hall is still a popular place for community activities in Macao. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hong Kong Cantonese movies also took pictures in this place. In the center of the square stands a fountain, which is the symbol of the place. The buildings in the square are rebuilt or redecorated, including the Department of tourism, post office and mercy hall, which is the oldest charity in Asia.

Cultural attractions

Maersk hit

Before 1940, because of the sparsity of people and vehicles, the front ground was very open, only a small flower garden was set up near the buildings on both sides, and several rows of wooden benches were placed for tourists to rest; in 1940, a trapezoidal grassland (narrow side forward direction) was set up in the middle of the new road and the city hall building (the former name of the Civil Affairs Department building), and several big trees were planted, and a concrete round stone column was set up in the middle There are more than ten parking spaces on both sides near the post office. In December 1966, the bronze statue was pulled down by the Chinese.

Memorial Archway

From the 1950s to the mid-1970s, pro Beijing groups in Macao erected a red wooden archway in front of the Convention Hall (or nearby places such as the former site of Xingguang bookstore and post office) in October every year, opposite to the city hall building. After celebration, it was demolished, which confirmed the political opposition in Macao at that time. The archway is usually three stories high, almost the same height as the nearby buildings. It looks like Tiananmen Square. On it are the words of Macao compatriots celebrating the national day. The notes on the ground contain the political slogans of the time. There are large-scale paintings on them. The themes vary from year to year. In the evening, the lights are on or firecrackers are set off to celebrate.

fountain

After the bronze statue of Maersk was pulled down, the original site was changed into a pool of the same shape, on which there was a small trapezoidal protrusion, on which was paved a round nozzle, and underwater with more than ten lights of different colors. During the holidays, the fountain was dominated by a water column in the middle, and the small round water around it shot to the center. Two levels of color lights flashed alternately. For the simple life of Macao residents in the 1970s It has become a kind of leisure activity for families to take a walk in the fountain and children to play mopping guns in their spare time or festivals. At the end of the 1980s, several large plant cement barges were set up in Qiandi, with tropical plants inside and horizontal chairs on four sides to separate the front and back of the fountain. At that time, only a small part of the area around the fountain was not allowed to drive, so it was still necessary to cross the road from the fountain to the gate of the general post office. Until the 1990s, it was still one of the approved parking places for tricycles. Since mid-1993, it has been reorganized for half a year.

Celestial globe

At present, the location of the fountain is far away from the former city hall building and closer to the mercy hall building. There are several concentric stone steps in the circular depression. In the center of the fountain, there is a standing celestial globe (there is also a celestial globe on the Portuguese national emblem, which represents the symbol of Portuguese maritime expeditions. Some books mistakenly write it as a globe). It is marked with the equatorial copper ring of the ecliptic, and the autumnal equinox is facing the city hall building. At the bottom of the fountain, there are dozens of white light bulbs, which are on at night to spray water upward with different lights. Moreover, since the whole front ground was replaced by ordinary cement ground and paved with wave shaped Portuguese stone, except for special vehicles (working vehicles of the Civil Affairs Department), the whole front ground was not allowed to drive, and only flower troughs and rest steps were set up beside the general post office for tourists to enjoy the cool, and wooden chairs were set up opposite. At the same time, because Portuguese stone was laid together, it was connected with banzhangtang and selling grassland.

social activities

If Macao organizations need to use the former place to hold activities, they need to submit an application to the General Administration of Civil Affairs (the city hall of Macao before the handover). On some large-scale festivals, special plants such as lotus (Lotus) and safflower (Christmas) are placed around the steps of the fountain. During the half month of Christmas and Chinese new year, large Christmas trees and zodiac lights are also placed in front of the fountain. During the period of art exhibition, the celestial globe on it was put down and art exhibits were placed on its platform. Since the scale of the fountain has been reduced and moved, more space has been vacated in front of the civil affairs department. Therefore, temporary stage and lighting are often set up here for general large-scale performance and entertainment programs such as galas or concerts.

In front of the conference hall, the dragon dance of the Chinese New Year in Zhonghua commercial building, the countdown to the new year (from the 1990s to 2004), or some large-scale activities of groups (such as security day), and the first Macau food festival in 2000 are also held here. Usually, the large dance platform is set up in the open space beside the Civil Affairs Department, while the open space behind the mercy hall is the pattern of exhibition or small booth activities. Every year, a few days before the lunar new year, small flower markets and photo exhibitions are held in front of the mercy hall.

As the former site is a part of the "historical city of Macao" listed in the "world cultural heritage" list, in order to protect the site and other nearby buildings also listed in the list (such as the mercy hall building and the Civil Affairs Department building), the number of large-scale gatherings and activities approved by the civil affairs department in the former site has also decreased. Every time there are festivals and large-scale activities, such as the Chinese new year, international art festivals, etc., relevant organizations will hold performances here for the public to watch.

11 golden week outdoor travel - the most beautiful cycling scenic line theme park strategy focuses on domestic well-known enterprises to hold performances for the public to watch.

In addition, the Macao Department of democracy and people's affairs holds the "Macao Lotus Festival" in June every year. At the opening of the event, there will be 3000 pots of lotus with more than 60 varieties

Chinese PinYin : Yi Shi Ting Qian Di