Girls more or less like to eat some desserts, especially egg tarts, and feel that they cannot resist their temptation. Of course, the most common one is Portuguese egg tart, but Portuguese egg tart is one of Macau’s representative delicacies. Did you know? Did you know?
The land in front of the top of Macau was called Mopan Mountain in ancient times. Although this area is not large, it has a quiet and elegant natural environment and rich cultural and religious landscapes. The Ding Gang Theater, Ha Dong Library, St. Augustine's Church, St. Joseph's Monastery, etc. located in Gangqian are all masterpieces that combine Chinese and Western styles and are among the oldest Western-style buildings in Macau's World Cultural Heritage.
The Hong Kong Theater is the first Western-style theater in China. It was built in 1860 in memory of King Peter V of Portugal. It was originally called the Peter V Theater. The completion of the theater added a movie screening space to the land of China. The first Asian performance of Puccini's famous opera "Madama Butterfly" was held here. It is said that the scene was unprecedented and became the talk of the day.
I walked here from the Sofitel Shiliupu Hotel in the morning and walked into the small courtyard of the theater. The green leaves swept down by the tall trees come into view, and eight white-striped columns support the neoclassical triangular lintel facade. The theater is suitable for small chamber music performances. When I first started, there was only the main part. In 1873, colonnades, arcades and a neoclassical triangular lintel were added in front of the entrance.
Ding Gang Theater has been repaired many times and has been closed for nearly 20 years due to termite erosion. During repairs in 1993 and 2001, the original appearance of the building was maintained. The Ding Gang Theater is the only European theater building in Macau and the oldest in the South China Sea.
The lobby on the first floor is spacious and elegant. The theater is crescent-shaped and has about two to three hundred red velvet seats. The stage of Ding Gang Theater is higher than the audience seats. This kind of design actually does not conform to the design concept of modern stage. According to the orchestra, there was a proposal to lower the stage during the maintenance, but in order to preserve the original appearance as much as possible, this proposal was rejected, and the theater was eventually "renovated to the same state as before."
It is said that sitting in the front row of the theater, you can hear the clear sound of the instruments and feel the perfect harmony on the second floor. The overall acoustics of the theater are very good. I really want to sit down and listen to a perfect musical, and my ears will be filled with happiness.
After walking out of the theater and standing in front of the post, we can see all the "world cultural heritage" around us: the "Garden Library" Hedong Library, St. Joseph, known as the "Shaolin Temple Monk" Monastery etc. Connected by wavy gravel roads, it becomes a unique European-style community.
The long steep alley extends upward, and the nine Roman arched dark green louvered floor-to-ceiling windows along the alley not only highlight the main roof effect, but also show the dignified and generous bearing of simple Italian style.
Hedong Library was built in 1894 (the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty). The original owners were an official and his wife. It was purchased by Sir Robert Ho Tung, a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, in 1918 as a summer residence in Macau. Sir Ho settled here during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II (1941-1945).
In 1955, Sir Robert Ho Tung passed away. Later, according to his lifetime will, he gave the building and 25,000 Hong Kong dollars to the Macau government to buy books and open a public library. Hedong Library was officially opened to the public in 1958.
Hedong Library is divided into two areas: the old area and the new area. The main building of Lao No. 1 Middle School is a garden-style building. The main body is bright and generous in goose yellow, giving people a simple and elegant feeling. The building is famous for its collection of Chinese classical literature books, including literature and history books from the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, many of which are very rare and unique.
The building’s open front courtyard and back garden are both shaded by trees. The entire building combines the pleasure of being alone in a garden with the convenience of living in the city.
Go through the beautiful back garden and come to the high-rise building newly built in 2005. This is the largest library building in Macau. The building has advanced facilities and a wide variety of books. Readers can swim freely in the ocean of knowledge here.
This library is very user-friendly.
Such a beautiful library. I really want to sit down and choose a good book to read to comfort my complicated soul.
Most of the high-rise buildings on both sides of the mountain are old residential buildings. The road in front of the mountain is paved with colored stones, with yellow, green and gray as the main colors, inlaid with exquisite wavy and sunflower patterns. It is ornamental and decorative, pleasing to the eye!
Warm reminder:
Bus: 2, 3, 3A, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8A, 10, 10A, 11, 21A, 26A, 33 (Xinma Road Get off)
9, 16, 18, 28B, get off near St. Laurence Church.