Leal Senado Building

The building of the General Administration of civil affairs is the most representative building in Macao. It is located in the heart of Macao. The building was built in 1784, formerly known as the city hall, with galleries and libraries inside. The "joint exhibition of calligraphy and painting in Macao" held every December can be regarded as an important exhibition in Macao's art circle. The library, on the other hand, exudes a totally different flavor - Portuguese customs. It specializes in collecting treasures of foreign ancient books from the 17th century to 1950, including the Portuguese Chinese bee, which was first published in 1822.

Macau Civil Administration Building

synonym

The building of the General Administration of Civil Affairs refers to the building of the General Administration of civil affairs of Macao

The location of the Macao Civil Affairs Administration building was originally a Chinese Pavilion in history. It was a meeting place for the Ming government to read out government orders and meet Chinese and Portuguese officials. In 1784 (the 49th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty), the Portuguese bought the land and built a Portuguese style Council building, which became the local political heart of the Portuguese in Macao. All municipal affairs, as well as Portuguese gatherings and celebrations, would be held here. After that, it was rebuilt many times, and the present scale was formed in 1874, which has obvious characteristics of southern European architecture.

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Many institutions, including the Jameson Museum, the letter house, the court and the prison, were attached to the Macao city hall building, and then moved out. On January 1, 2002, the General Administration of civil affairs of Macao was established to replace the municipal organs of Macao, and the name of the building was changed to "General Administration of civil affairs building". On the right side of the ground floor of the building is the exhibition hall, where various art exhibitions are held regularly; on the front seat of the second floor is the conference hall, where public meetings and press conferences of the Macao municipal council over the years, as well as today's General Administration of civil affairs are held. On the second floor, there is a public library in the northwest back seat under the jurisdiction of Macao Cultural Bureau. There is a public library on the second floor of the building, which was opened in 1929. The design is based on the Biblioteca do Convento de Mafra. The decoration and furnishings have a thick classical flavor. It is a special collection of foreign ancient books from the 17th century to the 1950s, especially the historical documents of Portugal in Africa and the Far East.

In addition, there is a Portuguese garden in the rear of the building, a garden in the shape of an armillary sphere, and a bust of the Portuguese poet James. The original Macao city emblem, Portuguese leal Senado and Chinese "city hall" on the facade of the building were covered after the handover due to political factors. After putting on the regional emblem of the SAR, the size ratio of the regional emblem to the gable is also quite large compared with the original area of the city emblem, so it is criticized as not in line with the stable facade. Others criticize it as excessive "political correctness" and neglect historical truth.

Whenever Christmas comes, the building of the home affairs department will be decorated with very beautiful lights. Of course, the venue in front of the assembly hall is no exception. This makes this southern European style very strong and makes people think that they are in Europe.

Historical evolution

In history, the location of the building of the civil affairs department used to be the conference Pavilion of a Chinese Pavilion building. It was the place for the Ming government to read out government orders and meet Chinese and Portuguese officials. After the establishment of the Macao Council in 1583 (the 11th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), it planned to purchase the pavilion and the Chinese houses behind it from the Ming government. In 1784 (the 49th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty),

The Portuguese bought the site with 80000 taels of silver. In 1904 (the thirtieth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty), the Macao government decorated the inside and outside of the building. All the layout of the building was in accordance with the pattern of the Portuguese king ruo'ang V Dynasty.

Address: 163 new road, peninsula, Macao

Longitude: 113.5394423411

Latitude: 22.193281967912

Tel. + 853-28337676

Tour time: 2 hours

Traffic information: take bus No.2, 3, 3a, 4, 5, 7, 8a, 10, 10a, 11, 18, 19, 21a, 26a and 33

Ticket information: Free

Opening hours: the gallery is open from 9:00 to 21:00, with a rest every Monday; the garden is open from 9:00 to 21:00