Architectural culture. 4｜Learning from Macao’s conservation experience to grasp the dominance of cultural development

Like Hong Kong, Macau has experienced the colonial rule of Portugal and the United Kingdom respectively, but the SAR governments of the two places have different attitudes towards historical buildings after the handover.

In an interview with Hong Kong 01, Lecturer of the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies, Chen Zhaoyu, pointed out that Macau, like Hong Kong, has also experienced colonial rule. The Portuguese government has also built many classical buildings in Macau, but she feels that the integration of Chinese and Western cultures in Macau is more than that of Macau. Hong Kong is more harmonious. "For example, if you pass a church or an alley, you will immediately feel the conflict or change between China and the West (architecture)."

Also experiencing colonial rule, Macau and Hong Kong have very different architectural culture and conservation attitudes.

Macau has a "Macao Historic District" consisting of 22 buildings and 8 former plots, with the old city as the core, and this district was included in the "World Cultural Heritage List" in 2005.

The entire urban area is not limited to Western-style buildings, but also Chinese-style buildings of ancient houses and ancient temples. Chen Zhaoyu said: "This is a sign, (Chinese and Western buildings) they are relatively peaceful in the whole area, and they won't say that this is the church area, and there is a church area. The Chinese Cultural District, in disguise, can reflect a clearer cultural exchange between China and the West.”

Chen Zhaoyu believes that from the application of the historical center of Macau to the World Heritage List, it can be seen that the Macau SAR government attaches great importance to the concept of cultural heritage integrity, and looks at the value of buildings from an international perspective.

On the other hand, in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government has a narrow vision for the conservation of heritage buildings, and mostly takes economic considerations into account, and may also unintentionally bring political disputes into conservation...

For details, please read "Hong Kong 01" Electronic Weekly Issue No. 328 (August 1, 2022)

Architectural culture.

1｜What kind of Hong Kong story does the historical buildings left by the British colony tell?

Architectural culture.

2｜Searching for Hong Kong architecture that inherits the combination of East and West all depends on "collective memory"?

Architectural culture.

3｜"Market value" dominates architectural cultural space, it is difficult to resonate architectural culture.

4｜Learning from Macao’s conservation experience to grasp the dominance of cultural development

Walking into the streets and alleys of Macau, you will find the characteristics of the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures. Chen Zhaoyu, a lecturer at the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies, believes that the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures in Macau is more harmonious than that in Hong Kong.

(Photo by Jiang Zhiqian)

Chen Zhaoyu believes that the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures in Macau is more harmonious than that in Hong Kong.

(online picture)