Lithuanians were surprised to find a place pretending to be a European country in China: what caused this strangeness? | Life

The “robes” are still Portuguese, though only Chinese underneath

There are very strange feelings in this small area. At the airport, we were surrounded on all sides by Portuguese notes, Easter greetings with eggs and bunnies. And in the city, you can even forget that you are walking on lands that used to belong to the Portuguese. Except for inscriptions in several languages, almost nothing else reminds us of the European past. All around are Chinese-looking people speaking Chinese and making small offerings to their Chinese gods.

Macau is considered the most densely populated place in the world – 695,000 inhabitants live in 118 square meters. km area. Although Portuguese is now a minority, there are still two official languages, Chinese Cantonese (spoken by 85.7 percent of the population) and Portuguese (spoken by just 0.6 percent). Therefore, all signs in the city are written in two languages.

Macau is considered the most densely populated place in the world.

We were lucky enough to pass a Portuguese school where father and daughter spoke Portuguese. Remembering a special past, but now it’s more the exception than the rule.

Although very few people speak Portuguese in this territory, I managed to find information on the Internet that Portuguese is still spoken by the “cream” of Macao (in the fields of law or journalism). Macau has an active Portuguese press, including three daily newspapers, one radio station and a television channel.

Macau owes its name to the Portuguese

The Portuguese ruled the territory since 1557, initially paying the Chinese an annual rent for the territory. Later, after signing a treaty with the Chinese, Portugal acquired permanent colonial rights and only after 1987. committed to Macau in 1999 returned to China. The latter promised that the territory would thereafter maintain the same special status as Hong Kong (one China, two systems).

Macao owes its name to Portuguese explorers. When the Portuguese travelers who visited here for the first time, in the 16th century, asked the people they met what they called the place where they lived, they didn’t quite understand the question and answered that the name of the most important goddess was “Ma kok”. The Portuguese wrote the place name “Amaquão” in their language, and later the name was shortened to Macao (Macau) in written sources.

While getting to know the history of Macao, we also took the opportunity to visit the cemetery of the first colonists, of which there are quite a few left. There is also the Catholic Michael the Archangel Cemetery, where Portuguese Catholics were buried, and the old Protestant cemetery, which was established by the British East India Company, claiming that the Catholic cemetery did not have enough space for the Protestant dead.

It is very sad to look at the magnificent monuments that people built for their loved ones far from their homeland, as if thinking that this will already be the eternal resting place of their entire family. Now, not only the relatives of those people, but also other compatriots – neither Portuguese nor English – remained in this territory. Only beautiful tombstones still reminding us of unexpected pages of history.

Catholics wanted to use Macao for expansion in Asia

For almost 400 years, Macau was ruled by Portuguese Catholics, so the Catholic Church was the basis of spiritual life at that time. The airport wishes you a happy Easter, but the streets are silent about it. According to statistics, now only 3 to 7 percent consider themselves Catholics. population.

It is claimed that in 2005 There were about 27,000 Catholics in Macao (about 5.6 percent of the total population), most of whom were members of the Chinese community, some Portuguese, Asians of Portuguese origin, and others foreigners, among whom there were quite a few Filipinos.

And how grand the plans were. in 1576 a Catholic diocese was established here, which was entrusted with the mission of preparing and sending missionaries to other Asian countries. 16th century at the end of the year, monks of the Jesuit order arrived here, who, like in Lithuania, carried out educational missions. We can be proud that the Jesuits first founded the university in Vilnius (1579), and only then in Asia. in 1594 Saint Paul’s College, founded by the Jesuits in Macau, is considered the oldest Western university in East Asia.

In Macau, we could listen to mass from Lithuania

Freedom of religion is now legally guaranteed in the territory, according to which all residents can freely choose what to believe. Therefore, Catholicism in this place remained only nominal. In addition, in 1762 the activity of the Jesuit order in Portugal was stopped, so the monks left Macao as well, abandoning the university. in 1835 the buildings were destroyed by fire and only the ruins of the facade of the Church of the Mother of God remained from the first university.

The mass held by archbishop Gintaras Gruš was broadcast in English.

Although from the establishment of the diocese until 1928 all the bishops who led it were Portuguese, now the local church already has a third Chinese bishop. There are also 52 priests (members of religious orders), 62 brothers and 183 sisters in Macao. In addition, the use of Portuguese in the liturgy is steadily decreasing. Masses and other sacraments are increasingly held simply in Chinese.

Nevertheless, the Catholic Church continues to influence and participate in areas such as social work and education (a private Catholic university was founded in 1996). We couldn’t find a holy mass in English at the right time, but we were glad to turn on the TV in the evening. From Lithuania, the Divine Mercy Shrine of Vilnius broadcasted the mass held by archbishop Gintaras Gruš in English, probably intended for the entire Catholic world – between him and the Catholics of Macau.

China’s Las Vegas

Driving through Macau, the street signs make you feel like you’re in Portugal, and the building designs make you feel like you’re in Las Vegas, United States of America. The buildings are huge, colorful, beautifully lit, often with dancing fountains nearby…

Macau’s gambling industry is said to be 7 times the size of Las Vegas.

Here we found a copy of the Eiffel Tower, as well as entire streets, canals, and squares of Venice. There are also buildings built according to Chinese traditions, equipped according to the rules of feng shui and considered very successful. For example, they have cavities for lucky dragons to fly through.

Macau’s gambling industry is said to be 7 times larger than that of Las Vegas and generates considerable revenue for the country, which is invested in the well-being of the region’s residents.

Macau is the only territory in China where gambling is legal. After Portugal’s withdrawal, Macau liberalized the area, allowing foreign players to invest in gambling as well. Then Macao’s economy began to grow rapidly.

Now huge hotels (with up to 3,000 rooms) and casino complexes have been introduced here, where people come only to gamble. To us, the city streets seemed dead and quite empty in the evenings, but the gambling houses must have an active life behind closed doors.

Macau wants to be famous for more than just gambling

Macau is also famous in the world of car and motorcycle racing. in 1954 sports car races on the streets of Macau began here. It is the only street circuit in the world where both cars and motorcycles compete. A whole museum was founded about it, which tells about the history of the race, the most famous racers who drove here, and exhibits their cars.

It is the only street circuit in the world where both cars and motorcycles compete.

It was one such museum that we went to just for the kids, but we were surprised because we learned a lot of things we had never heard of. The Macau circuit, with its sharp turns and limited street visibility, is considered a challenging and suitable starting stage for future F1 drivers. Even Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and others took part in the competition here.

Of course, it was sad that the children could not try many of the attractions of the museum because they were too young or too small in height. The children’s height and age were just right for changing tires on race cars, so everyone could try being a mechanic for a little while.

Well, not everyone is destined to become a racer, just like Macau was not destined to become Portugal. But after walking here, we will remember Macau not as an ordinary Chinese city, but as a small step of Portugal in Asia.