the Ruins of the Cathedral of Saint Paul

The archway of the great Sanba is located in the inclined harbor of the great Sanba on the Macao Peninsula. It is a relic of the front wall of St. Paul's church. On the right side, it is adjacent to the fort and the Macao Museum. It has a history of more than 350 years and is the most familiar symbol of Macao. "Sanba" is the transliteration of "St. Paul". Because the front wall of the church looks like a traditional Chinese archway, it is called the great Sanba archway. This scenic spot was listed in the world heritage list in July 2005. When you visit the Da Sanba memorial archway, you should not only appreciate the magnificent front wall, but also pay attention to the delicate floating and its meaning.

After visiting the memorial archway, you can visit the Catholic Art Museum in the inner square. The museum has a collection of representative paintings and sculptures of Macao churches and monasteries. Among them, the most precious is a batch of oil paintings with religious life as the theme. This is the first batch of paintings in the Far East and the oldest oil paintings in the East. Next door, the tomb houses the remains of Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs, showing the religious history of Macao.

the Ruins of the Cathedral of Saint Paul

The official name of the archway is the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral (Portuguese: Ru í NAS Da Antiga Catedral de s à o Paulo)

It is the site of the front wall of the mother Catholic Church (St. Paul's church, completed in 1580) in Macao.

The grand Sanba memorial archway is one of the landmark buildings in Macao

At the same time, it is also the "Eight Sights of Macao"

”One. In 2005, other cultural relics in Macao's historic district became the world cultural heritage of the United Nations.

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Setting up the background

Dashanba memorial archway is a combination of European Renaissance and Oriental architectural styles, reflecting the blend of eastern and Western art, fine carving, majestic and spectacular. It is a triangular pyramid with three to five layers. Whether it is the cross at the top of the archway, or the baby statue under the bronze pigeon and the virgin mary statue surrounded by angels and flowers, it is full of strong religious atmosphere and gives people the enjoyment of beauty. The various statues on the archway are lifelike, which can be called "three-dimensional Bible"

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As one of the most representative "Eight Sights of Macao", the archway of Da Sanba is located at the foot of Paotai mountain, adjacent to the Macao Museum and the famous place of Da Paotai on the left. It is the front wall site of the mother church of the Catholic Church (St. Paul's Church) and has been reborn. The architecture combines the style of European Renaissance and oriental architecture, reflecting the blend of eastern and Western art, fine carving, majestic and spectacular.

Dashanba memorial archway is the witness of Western civilization entering Chinese history. In 1583, Matteo Ricci, a famous missionary, changed the map of the world to the map of all nations, which was given to the local government of China with a Chinese logo. In 1569, St. garzasi hospital was built near the Da Sanba, where western medicine began to flow into China. The Portuguese doctor Gomes also introduced "vaccinia" into China from Macao to cure the incurable disease "smallpox" at that time. St. Paul's college is the earliest Western-style University in East Asia. It not only implements western education, but also trains missionaries who are going to enter the East. After the return of Macao, thousands of Macao people from all walks of life gathered and sang in the square and stone square of the towering dashanba memorial archway almost every day. After more than 400 years of vicissitudes, Dasanba has ushered in its glorious rebirth and witnessed Macao's tortuous return to history.

The great Sanba memorial archway in Macao is the site of St. Paul's church, and "Sanba" is the Cantonese transliteration of "St. Paul". The church experienced three fires and was built again and again until October 26, 1835. The last fire left only the front wall of the main entrance of the church, which was named "Da San Ba archway" because it was similar to the traditional Chinese archway.

Historical evolution

More than 400 years ago, the Portuguese occupied Macao and brought Catholicism to Macao. In 1562, the Portuguese built this church in Macao after several years, named "St. Paul's" church. The pronunciation of Portuguese "St. Paul" is close to the Cantonese "Sanba", so it is also called "Da Sanba church". Later, the church was destroyed by fire twice. In 1602, St. Paul's church was rebuilt again. After 35 years, it was completed in 1637. In 1835, a fire destroyed the church, leaving only the front wall of 30000 taels of silver, which became today's Da San Ba memorial archway.

After the church became a site, because the front wall was similar to the traditional Chinese archway, and "St. Paul" was transliterated from Portuguese into Chinese, which was called "Sanba". The architecture of the archway is Baroque, with obvious Oriental Sculpture, including Peony and chrysanthemum patterns representing China and Japan, which makes it unique in Catholic churches all over the world.

Originally designed by an Italian Jesuit priest, the church was built with the help of Japanese craftsmen. The foundation was laid in 1602 and completed in 1637, while a section of feldspar steps in front of the church was completed later. In terms of architectural style, the archway of Dasanba belongs to the style of affectation, and combines the European Renaissance and Oriental architectural style. St. Paul's church was the largest Catholic Church in the east at that time, known as the "Vatican of the East", attached to St. Paul's college. The college is the first Western-style University in the Far East. From its establishment in 1594 to the end of 1762, many foreign missionaries who visited China came to study Chinese, making the college an important missionary base for these missionaries to enter China, and playing an unparalleled role in promoting religious and cultural exchanges between Europe and China.

Dasanba also witnessed the humiliation of the Chinese nation in modern history. Opium was first imported into China by the Portuguese from the port where the bus went down, with an average of 20000 cases per year. Until 1946, opium smoking in Macao was still legal. After the Opium War, the Portuguese followed the great powers, surpassed the Portuguese residential areas bounded by Dasanba by force, expanded northward, occupied the entire Macao Peninsula, began to colonize Macao, and became the command base of British invasion of China. Huawangtang street, not far from Dasanba, used to be a famous "piggy Street", along which there are more than 300 shops selling Chinese laborers. At that time, there were tens of thousands of foreigners in Macao who specialized in population trading. They used deception, kidnapping and other means to force the export of Chinese laborers, and many people died at sea. On May 29, 1922, the Portuguese army openly shot and killed more than 70 Chinese under the bus and injured more than 100 people.

Historic District

With a history of more than 350 years, the archway of Da Sanba, which is close to the fort and Macao Museum, is the most familiar symbol in Macao and a relic of the front wall of St. Paul's church. "Sanba" is the transliteration of "St. Paul", and because the ruins of the front wall of the church look like a traditional Chinese archway, it is called the great Sanba archway. The cost of DaSanBa memorial archway was as high as 30000 taels of silver 300 years ago, which was extremely precious and famous in Southeast Asia at that time. Later, it was burned in 1595 and 1601.

The third construction of the church was designed by the Italian Jesuit priest Spinola. The foundation was laid in 1602 and completed in 1635. It took 33 years. It was the largest Catholic stone church in the Far East at that time. Later, in 1835, it was burned again, leaving only the 68 stone steps in front of the church and the front wall made of granite. It was named "Da San Ba archway" because it looks like a Chinese archway. At the beginning of 1990, an archaeological investigation was carried out and the architectural sites at that time were found. Now they are on display together with some Macao church cultural relics. Before the handover, the Australian and Portuguese Governments wanted to declare the memorial archway as a world cultural heritage, but they failed because of political and technical factors.

In 2005, the Chinese government successfully declared the world cultural heritage to UNESCO, and the archway of dashanba became a part of Macao's historical city. Although the archway has lost its actual function as a church, it is closely related to the life of Macao people. Various cultural activities are held here from time to time. The long steps in front of the memorial archway just become natural seats, making the memorial archway a huge setting and a natural stage.

After visiting the archway, you can go to the Catholic Art Museum in the inner square. The museum has a collection of representative paintings and sculptures of Macao churches and monasteries. Among them, the most precious is a batch of oil paintings with religious life as the theme. This is the first batch of paintings in the Far East and the oldest oil paintings in the East. Next door, the tomb houses the remains of Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs, showing the religious history of Macao. In addition to enjoying the magnificent front wall, you should also pay attention to the exquisite relief and its meaning.

Tourism characteristics

Overall characteristics

The archway is about 27 meters high and 23.5 meters wide. It is a baroque building of Italian Renaissance. It is divided into five floors. The bottom two floors are the same rectangle, and the triangular pyramid is formed by three to five floors. There is a cross shaped frame at the top, and a bronze dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit is embedded under it. Beside the bronze dove, there are stone carvings of the sun, moon and stars, symbolizing the moment of virgin pregnancy. Under the bronze dove, there is a baby statue, with the statue of "eternal fire" on the top left and the stone carvings of "tree of life" on the right. In the middle of the third layer, there is a Virgin Mary, with peony on the side And chrysanthemum around, the former

Chinese PinYin : Da San Ba Pai Fang