The Historic Center of Macao includes the oldest Western architectural heritage on Chinese soil today. Together with Macao’s traditional Chinese design, it stands witness to successful East-West cultural pluralism and architectural traditions. The center is a solid testimony of the city’s missionary role in the Far East while also reflecting the dissemination of Chinese folk beliefs to the Western world. It is the product of East-West cultural exchanges, forming the most unique blend of cultural heritage existing in China’s historic cities. The center presents a complete social infrastructure that has encompassed and sustained the living traditions of different cultures. Macao was added to the list on July 15, 2005.

History

Macao, a bustling port of strategic importance in the development of international trade, was under Portuguese administration from the mid-16th century until 1999 when it came under Chinese sovereignty.

The emergence of Macao with its dual function as a gateway into China, and as a window to the world of Ming Dynasty, reflected a relaxation of certain restrictions combined with a degree of open-mindedness that offered a creative way to supplement China’s vassal-state trading system and marked a turning point in the history of both China and Europe.

The settlement of Macao by Portuguese navigators in the mid-16th century laid the basis for nearly five centuries of uninterrupted contact between East and West. The origins of Macao’s development into an international trading port make it the single most consistent example of cultural interchange between Europe and Asia.

The settlement of Macao by Portuguese navigators in the mid-16th century laid the basis for nearly five centuries of uninterrupted contact between East and West. The origins of Macao’s development into an international trading port make it the single most consistent example of cultural interchange between Europe and Asia.

Source：chinaculture.org