Category Archives: Architecture

Sir Robert Ho Tung Library (Macau)

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From St. Augustine Church, we proceeded to the 3-storey Sir Robert Ho Tung Library.  Built before 1894, it was originally the residence of Dona Carolina Cunha. Hong Kong businessman Sir Robert Ho Tung purchased it in 1918, using it as his retreat until his relocation to Macau during World War II when Hong Kong fell into the hands of the Japanese in 1941.

Sir Robert Ho Tung Library

He passed away in 1955 and in accordance with his will, the building was presented to the Macao Government for conversion into a public library.  In 1958, the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library was officially opened  to the general public.

Sir Robert Ho Tung Library – Facade

This Macanese mansion has 5 interconnecting corridors on the ground floor, while the 2 upper layers are decorated with 5 arched-windows. Its arcaded facade, decorated with pilasters and Ionic columns, is highlighted in white stucco against yellow plastered walls, with molding running along the facade’s width. The roof dome, with 4 ridges, is built in red bricks. The library’s intricate steel gate and arches open to the St Augustine Square and the St Joseph Seminary.

Seminary of St. Joseph

In 2005, a new MOP20 million, 4-storey building was constructed near the back garden of the mansion, making the now 30,000 sq. m. library the biggest public library in Macau.  The library displays historical archives and ancient literature. At the second level, the Ho Sir Literature Archive provides 16 various categories of ancient literature and books on Chinese history and Catholicism, including the compendium of Weng Fang Gang’s Siku Tiyao (Complete Library of the Four Treasures) which constitues a large collection of books on Chinese history.

St. Augustine’s Church (Macau)

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From Dom Pedro V Theater, we walked further up the square to St. Augustine’s Church, part of a monastery founded in 1586 by Spanish Augustinians, was rebuilt in 1828. The facade was originally of the Baroque style but the existing facade, dating from 1814, is more Neo-Classic. This church maintains the tradition of organizing one of the most popular processions through the city, the Easter Procession, with thousands of devotees..

St. Augustine’s Church

Its normal (10:30 AM in Tagalog and 4:30 PM in English) Sunday religious service takes into account an especially strong participation from Macau’s large Filipino community. The church has a simple, Neo-Classical facade which contrasts with the elaborate decoration of the interior nave, chancel and service area. The main entrance, flanked by 2 pairs of granite Doric columns, has windows framed with simple white relief plasterwork and a triangular pediment, on the top, with a centrally located niche with statue of the Virgin Mary.

St. Augustine’s Church – Interior

The nave is divided into 3 sections by 2 rows of archways supported on Corinthian-inspired columns. The wooden ceiling over the nave is decorated with paintings, mostly over the main altar area. There are small side altars and niches following up to the main altar, with some decorative details that display a Baroque influence. Over the main entrance there is a choir that extends to the side walls, forming a narrow balcony, a design similar to that of the Church of St. Dominic’s.

St. Augustine’s Church – High Altar

St Augustine Church’s marble-clad high altar contains a statue of Christ carrying the cross, Our Lord of the Passion (Nosso Senhor dos Passos)

Dom Pedro V Theater (Macau)

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From Largo de Leal Senado, Jandy, Cheska and I walked all the way to Augustine’s Square (Largo de Santo Agontinho), site of various classified buildings such as St. Augustine’s Church, Dom Pedro V Theater, St. Joseph’s Seminary and Sir Robert Ho Tung Library. Its cobblestone pavement unifies the area and reflects a traditionally Portuguese streetscape.

St. Augustine’s Square

We first visited the Dom Pedro V Theater, built in 1860 and renovated in 1873.  The first Western-style theater in China, today it is one of the most important cultural landmarks in the context of the local Macanese community and is a venue for important public events and celebrations that remains in use to this day. The Dom Pedro V Theater is Neo-Classical in design, incorporating a portico front on a rectilinear plan.

Dom Pedro V Theater

The facade is topped with a triangular pediment supported on 4 sets of Ionic columns. Three archways, each measuring 3 m. wide by 6 m. high, rise on pedestals resting on granite steps. The ornamentation on the green stucco facade is relatively restrained, with festoons above the arches and simple floral patterns around frames accentuated in white plaster. Similarly the cornice and architrave mouldings are highlighted in white, in contrast with the building.

Dom Pedro V Theater – Facade

Leal Senado Building (Macau)

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From Largo de Leal Senado Square, we crossed Almeida Ribeiro Ave. to the Neo-Classical Leal Senado Building, now the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau.  Originally built in 1784 , this building was Macau’s first municipal chamber, a function it maintains to the present.  Severely damaged by a typhoon in 1874, it  underwent major renovation work in 1876. In 1887, the building’s roof was repaired and, in 1904, the building underwent extensive renovation, adapting it to more functional uses.  In 1936, it was again damaged by a typhoon and restoration work began in 1938 and was completed in 1940.

Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Leal Senado Building)

The Leal Senado Building has retained all its original master walls and primary layout, including the courtyard garden in the back. The main facade is 14.5 m. high and 44 m. wide and is divided into 3 sections by vertical granite projections. The central section of the main façade juts out slightly from the rest of the building and is topped by a triangular pediment which, at its highest point, is 17 m. above the ground. Granite Doric columns, supporting lintels made of the same material, flank the main entrance.

Some of the Leal Senado Building’s Row of Windows

The building’s rows of windows, in simple Renaissance style with granite casings and following a repetitive rhythmic pattern, are the the main architectural element and decorative feature of the completely symmetrical facade.  In the middle section, there are 3 French windows on the first floor, opening out to balconies with iron railings.

The Leal Senado Building’s Courtyard

Inside the first floor of this U-shaped building, its arms turning away from Almeida Ribeiro Ave., are a spacious lobby used for public exhibitions, a reception area, a ceremonial meeting room that opens onto an elaborate carved library (styled after the library of Mafra Convent in Portugal) and a small chapel.

The Courtyard Fountain with 2 Heads

Walls covered with blue and white Portuguese ceramic tiles, a most distinctive feature rarely found in other buildings in Macao, flank the granite staircase, the central axis of the building. The building is painted white which enhances the dark green color of the window frames and the main entrance door.

Leal Senado Square (Macau)

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After our tour of Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, we returned to our bus which brought us to the Metro Park Hotel for lunch.  After lunch, Grace, Dad and Mom were to be brought back to the Venetian while Jandy, Cheska and I asked to be dropped off at Leal Senado Square (Largo do Leal Senado), our starting point for our own tour of Macau’s churches.

Leal Senado Square

Here, we got the best rate for exchanging Philippine pesos to Macau Patakas or MOP$, doing so on the recommendation of a Filipino kababayan doing the same thing.  Macau has a sizeable Filipino community (officially 2% of Macau’s population) working in casinos (including the Venetian), retail outlets, restaurants, transport companies and even in the airport where there is a need for amiable, hard-working and English-speaking staff.  Aside from telling me which money changer to go to, they were also helpful sources of information (we had a hard time talking to the Chinese natives in English) on where the free shuttles are parked, where to buy certain goods, directions to tourist spots, etc.

Leal Senado Square at Night

The postcard-pretty Leal Senado Square, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Center of Macau,” has been Macau’s urban center for centuries. In the past, this Portuguese-style piazza was where the governors inspected military troops and the police force when they took up their posts. The square is still the most popular venue for public events and celebrations today.

The Square is Filled with Boutiques and Restaurants

It has coffee shops (Starbucks), restaurants (including a MacDonalds), market lanes and shops (garments, lingerie, fashion ware, kids clothes, accessories, sportswear, shoes, etc.) and is always filled with people and tourists, whether day or night.

Macau Business Tourism Centre

Located close to the former Senate building (now the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau Building), the 3,700 sq. m. square is surrounded by pastel-colored, Neo-Classical buildings, creating a consistent and harmonious Mediterranean atmosphere.  They include the Macau General Post Office Building, the Church of St. Dominic and the Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia) which was being renovated during our visit. At the center of the square is a beautiful fountain.

Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro

Its pavement is a beautiful wave-patterned mosaic of colored stones created by Portuguese experts. From Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro to the Church of St. Dominic, the pavement extends to the Ruins of St. Paul’s, making the heart of the city a pedestrian paradise. Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, built in 1918 to link Praia Grande with the Inner Harbour, passes through the old “Christian Quarter” and “Chinatown.”

The Square’s Beautiful Fountain

The Macau General Post Office Building, completed in 1929, has also been selected as a building of architectural and artistic value. It was designed by a Chinese architect, Chen Kunpei, and was built on the site of Tong Sin Tong, a Chinese charitable institution that consisted of some small low houses. The Post Office is the only grand project to have been built along the lines of Classical architecture, and it stands 3 storeys high, with a basement, constructed entirely of cement.

Macau General Post Office Building

St. Dominic Church and Treasures of Sacred Heart Museum (Macau)

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When we were in Largo do Leal Senado, my kids and I visited the Church of St. Dominic, situated right in the middle of the  square.  Built in 1587 by 3 Spanish Dominican priests, it is one of the most beautiful churches in Macau.   Originally built in wood, it was, in 1828, rebuilt in stone and was restored in 1994.

St. Dominic Church

The first Portuguese newspaper, A Abelha da China (The China Bee), was published here in 1822.   The church’s basic layout is influenced by both Portuguese and Spanish styles and its architecture is Jesuit Mannerist. The church is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.

St. Dominic Church – Interior

We also dropped by bell tower at the back which was modified into the small Treasure of Sacred Art Museum. On the right side of the church is the sacristy (dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary), the only surviving part of the old monastery/convent that was built with the church.  Here, we went up the stairs that lead to the museum located at second and third floors.

Treasure of Sacred Art Museum – Exhibit

When the Religious Orders were abolished in Portugal in 1834, the museum received many articles of sacred art that are now presently displayed. The museum, opened to visitors in 1997, occupies what is left of the ancient cloister and also the other rooms that are still connected to the church.

Treasure of Sacred Art Museum – Exhibit

There are approximately 300 pieces of excellent quality artifacts, many of which are also from Macau. that date back from the 17th to the 19th centuries.  The rich collection includes gold objects, statues, richly ornamented canonicals, religious paintings and other liturgical vessels.

Ruins of St. Paul’s (Macau)

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The last destination in our city tour is St. Paul’s (Rua de Sao Paolo), the greatest of Macau’s churches and the major landmark of Macau. Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, this church was dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle and was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time. A fire started in the kitchens, during a typhoon, destroyed the body of the church in 1835.

Ruins of St. Paul’s

Now in ruins, all that remained was the magnificent, intricately carved stone facade (built from 1620 to 1627 by Japanese Christian exiles and local craftsmen under the direction of Italian Jesuit Fr. Carlo Spinola), the crypts of the Jesuits who established and maintained the cathedral, and the grand, 66-step staircase.

To preserves its aesthetic integrity, the facade is now buttressed with concrete and steel and a steel stairway allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear. From this stairs, it is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins for luck. Behind the façade are remains of the original pillars and a shrine.

The facade, rising in 4 colonnaded tiers, is crowned by the cross of Jerusalem, below which are 3 tiers with niches containing statues, cast from bronze at a local cannon and bell factory. It is covered with Jesuit statues with Oriental themes (such as a woman stepping on a 7-headed hydra, described by Chinese characters as “Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon”), carvings of the Garden of Eden, the Crucifixion, the angel, the devil, a Chinese dragon, a Portuguese sailing ship, a Japanese chrysanthemum, pious warnings inscribed in Chinese, founders of the Jesuit Order, the “Conquest of Death by Jesus” and, at the very top, a dove with wings outstretched.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption (Maasin City, Southern Leyte)

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From Hilongos, Maasin City was just a further 37 kms.away, past the towns of Bato and Matalom. Doods and I finally reached city by 12:30 PM and Doods conveniently parked the car in front of the city’s Spanish-era Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption.  This church was started in 1771 by Jesuit Fr. Serapio Gonzalez, continued by Fr. Jose Paco from 1839 to 1852, destroyed by fire in 1884 and later rebuilt.  In 1968, the church was made into a cathedral and, in 1993, the cathedral was made a National Shrine by the National Historical Institute.

 Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption

Its simple, sparsely-decorated Early Renaissance façade has a semicircular arched main entrance flanked by narrow paired columns, a pediment with a centrally located a statued niche flanked by square windows and topped by a circular window.  On its right is a tall and slender 3-storey bell tower and surrounding the church is a fortification with quadrilateral bulwarks at the corners. Part of the fortification has been demolished to give way to a school. A bulwark on the western side of the site has the inscription “San Carlos Año de 1781.” Inside the cathedral are Spanish-era images and santos found in its altar and ceiling.

The cathedral’s interior

Peak Tram (Hong Kong)

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Upon arrival at the Lower Peak Tram Terminus, we bought our tickets for the Peak Tram, a 1.352 km. funicular ride through upper Hong Kong that will take us  up to around 396 m. up the 522-m. high Victoria Peak, the highest peak in Hong Kong.

Lower Peak Tram Terminus

Opened in May 1888  for the exclusive use of the British Governor and Victoria Peak residents (the first mechanical public transport in Hong Kong), this historic service remains, to this day, the steepest funicular railway in the world.  The trams were originally steam-driven.  In 1926, an electric cable haulage system was introduced and the current modernized enclosed, 2-car trams were introduced in 1989, using a 1520 mm. rail gauge.  Until the 1960s, there were 2 classes of tickets, one for the rich and the other for servants.

On Board the Peak Tram

The Peak Tram operates from 7 AM to midnight, departing within 10 to 15-min. intervals. The journey, from lower terminus to upper terminus, up the peak took us only 7 to 8 mins. but, during that short time, we were offered, as the tram ascended, an unfolding canvas of stunning views over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Victoria Harbor.

Cityscape View From the Peak Tram

Each red tram has a capacity of 120 people (95 seated and 25 standing). There were immediate stations at Cotton Tree Drive Terminal, Kennedy Rd., MacDonnell Rd., May Rd. and Barker Rd. though, at busy times, it may not be possible to board as the trams may be full.

Peak Tower Terminus

We arrived at the upper terminus at the distinctive, ultra-modern, 7-storey Peak Tower by 12:30 PM.  The tower’s wok-shaped upper storey looks not unlike a Japanese Shinto Gate.  The tower was designed by architect Zaha Hadid and was completed on August 29, 1972. The current tower, designed by renowned British architect Terry Farrell, was officially reopened to the public on May 1997.

Peak Tower

Upon arrival, we first had our lunch at the tower’s Burger King outlet. After lunch, we proceeded to its view platform where we had a stunning cityscape view of Hong Kong’s skyline.  With over 7000 skyscrapers built in past 2 decades, it is the world biggest, larger than New York City and, many say, the most beautiful in the world.  Also best appreciated at night, when the neon lights of Hong Kong’s giant skyscrapers are most majestic, it remains one of the greatest man-made views on Earth.

Hong Kong’s Magnificent Skyline

The tower’s retail and entertainment complex features a number of top attractions, including Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium (2nd and 3rd floor), the Peak Explorer Motion Simulator (4th floor) and Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks Museum. Though we didn’t enter the wax museum, we still had a blast posing beside the available wax images of late martial arts start Bruce Lee and actress Cecilia Cheung.

Bruce Lee in Wax at Madame Tussaud’s

The tower also boasts of shopping arcades, 6 snack bars and cafes and 4 fine-dining restaurants including Hong Kong’s highest restaurant, Mövenpick Marche. After 1.5 hrs. on the tower, we decided it was time to leave for our next destination – Ocean Park, this time taking the taxi.

Peak Tram Lower Terminus: 33 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2522 0922. Fax: (852) 2849 6237. Website: www.thepeak.com.hk. Email : info@thepeak.com.hk. Fares: Adults (HK$28 single, HK$40 return), Child (HK$11 single, HK$18 return), Senior (65 and over, HK$11 single, HK$18 return).

Enroute to the Peak Tram (Hong Kong)

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After our breakfast at a MacDonald’s outlet along Nathan Rd., we all returned to our hotel and prepared for our day’s main activities – the Peak Tram in the morning and Ocean Park in the afternoon. We planned to all go the former via the very efficient Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system.  From the hotel, we all walked all the way, from Kimberley Rd. to Nathan Rd. and, from there, to the nearby Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station.  Here, we took the MTR to Central MTR Station.

Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station

Upon our arrival at Central, we made our way to the J2 Exit and walked up to the ground level. It was a pleasant walk from Central to the Peak Tram Lower Terminus. Turning right, through Chater Garden (a gathering place for many of our Filipino kababayans), we crossed Queen’s Road Central and made our way up Garden Road. Along the way, we passed a few famous Hong Kong landmarks such as the Bank of China Tower and Citibank Plaza on our left and St John’s Cathedral on our right.

Central MTR Station

The cross-shaped, Early English and Decorated-Gothic styled St. John’s Cathedral (or the Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist), a declared monument since January 5, 1996.  Located along Garden Road, it is the oldest surviving Western ecclesiastical building in Hong Kong and is believed to be the oldest Anglican church in the Far East.  It was built in 1849 and houses 3 beautiful stained glass windows, as well as a collection of British military colors, standards and guidons. An eastern extension was added in 1873.  During the Japanese occupation, the cathedral was used as a social club for the Japanese community.  It suffered heavy damage during the war and most of the present interior and furnishings are post-war.

St. John's Cathedral

Next to the cathedral, along Battery Path, is the Former French Mission Building, built by Sir Henry Pottinger, the first governor of Hong Kong. This granite and red brick structure, completed between 1842 and 1843, is one of Hong Kong’s oldest surviving colonial buildings. Acquired by the French Mission in 1915, it was extensively rebuilt in 1917 and was finally sold back to the Hong Kong Government in 1953. Reputedly the location of the colony’s first government house, it has green shutters, black wrought-iron details and a chapel on the northwest corner, topped by a cupola, added by French Catholic missionaries. Today, this Neo-Classical styled building is used as the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and was declared as a declared monument on September 14, 1989.

Former French Mission Building

Built in 1950, the 17-storey Old Bank of China Building, Hong Kong Building was, for some time, one of the masterpieces of Hong Kong architecture. Contemporary in style, it was completed only a year after the Communist Party came to power in China. The new party endeavored to make it one of the grandest buildings in Hong Kong and, at one point, it towered more than 20 feet over the neighboring Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building (HSBC), which was their goal.

Old Bank of China Building (left) beside the newer HSBC Building

No longer home to the Bank of China, the attractive building is – ironically – now one of the shortest in Hong Kong’s Central District, was replaced in the 1990s by I.M Pei’s stunning Bank of China Tower. However, during its heyday, the old building served not only as bank headquarters but also as a way to encourage Hong Kong citizens to disregard their colonial rulers and pledge allegiance to China. It is said that during the 1960s, loud speakers were placed on the exterior of the building to broadcast “patriotic” messages to locals.

Bank of China Building

The Old Bank of China was designed by P & T Architects and Engineers Ltd., established in 1868. Also known as Palmer and Turner, the group has, throughout the decades, designed a number of other well-known Hong Kong landmarks, including the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (Bank of China’s rival) and a number of other office buildings, hotels, and condominiums worldwide.