3 Best Sights in Macau, China

Macau’s largest representation of Guangdong residential architecture spans 43,055 square feet and has more than 60 lovingly restored rooms. Built in 1869 and refurbished in 2010, the compound blends Chinese and Western architectural elements. It was the home of Zheng Guanying, a late Qing Dynasty literary figure, who completed his influential Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity here. Just steps away, Lilau Square, a banyan-shaded plaza near one of Macau’s first Portuguese residential quarters, reflects the city’s deep cultural ties.

Founded in 1569 by Dom Belchior Carneiro, Macau’s first bishop, the Macau Holy House of Mercy is coastal China’s oldest Christian charity. It continues to take care of the underprivileged with regular donations and a range of social services, operating a nursery, a house for the elderly, and a center for the blind. The exterior of the heritage-listed building is neoclassical, but the interior is done in an opulent, modern style. The second floor houses a museum of Roman Catholic relics, displaying portraits of its earliest benefactors, including pioneering patroness Marta da Silva Merop.

These five sea-green, Sino-Portuguese buildings sit conspicuously at the edge of Taipa's man-made wetlands, surrounded by cobblestones and towering banyans. Built in 1921, they once served as residences for senior civil servants, back when they faced out over the mangroves and water toward Coloane. Today, they house rotating exhibitions and Casa Maquista, a beautiful, heritage-oriented restaurant serving exquisite renditions of lesser-known Macanese dishes. Nearby paths lead into the beautiful adjoining Carmel Garden, where palm trees provide welcome shade. Within the garden stands the brilliant white-and-yellow Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Church of Our Lady of Carmel), built in 1885 and featuring a handsome single-belfry tower.