The Macau Government Headquarters (; pt, Sede do Governo da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China), formerly Governor's Palace ( pt, Palácio do Governador) is the official office of the

Chief Executive of Macau The Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (; pt, Chefe do Executivo da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau) is the head of government of Macau, a special administrative region of China. The position replaced the o ...

and has been since 1999. It is located in São Lourenço.

History

Built in 1849 by Tomás de Aquino, architect, for Alexandrino Antonio de Melo, 1st Baron do Cercal, the two story pink facade structure is one of the historic properties preserving Portuguese influence in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

and located on

Avenida da Praia Grande Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

, in the St. Lawrence Parish. The building used

Pombaline style The Pombaline style was a Portuguese architectural style of the 18th century, named after Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the first Marquês de Pombal, who was instrumental in reconstructing Lisbon after the earthquake of 1755. Pombal super ...

imported from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and popular in the 18th to mid 19th Century. The office is the former residence of the

Governor of Macau The governor of Macau ( pt, Governador de Macau; ) was a Portuguese colonial official who headed the colony of Macau, before 1623 called captain-major ( pt, Capitão-mor). The post was replaced on 20 December 1999 upon the transfer of sove ...

(relocated to another residence further west at Macau Government House) and the offices of the governor prior to the handover in 1999. The building is surrounded by shops, residences and other office buildings. It is bounded by the roads Travessa Do Paiva, Avenida Dr Stanley Ho and Travessa do Padre Narciso. The northside is closed off by buildings. The main entrance faces Avenida Dr Stanley Ho and looks out to

Nam Van Lake The Nam Van Lake (; pt, Lago Nam Van) is a man-made lake in Sé, Macau, Sé, Macau, China. It is one of two man made lakes in Macau. It is located at the southern end of Macau Peninsula. The lake was once part of a bay (Praia Grande (Macau), Pr ...

with the

Superior Court of Macau Building Superior Court of Macau Building (, pt, Edifício dos Tribunais de Segunda e Última Instâncias) is the home of the supreme court of Macau and the second court of appeal. Construction of the court house began in 1997 and was completed in 1999 ...

and

Macau Legislative Assembly Building The Macau Legislative Assembly Building (; pt, 1=Prédio da Assembleia, Macau) is the home of the Legislative Assembly of Macau and various government offices in Macau. The building is located in Sé, Macau, China. Construction began in 1998 a ...

in the distance.

Interior

The Government Headquarters has three wings and has undergone several reincarnations. Most of the interior is updated with modern features, but some original features have remained. The headquarters houses the Lotus Room (conference room of the Executive Council), a multi-purpose conference room and a pressroom. While the edifice and interior architecture is distinctly European, the building contains many Chinese wooden furniture and attractive ceramics.

Exterior

A large garden with various plants, fountains and trees are found in the rear of the structure. The garden design is a mix of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

styles.

Open Day

Two days a year it is open to visitors to discover the interior and exterior of the government office.

References

Government Headquarters to open to the public during the weekend

Government Information Bureau The Government of the Macau Special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Region (; Portuguese language, Portuguese: Governo da R.A.E. de Macau; conventional short name Macau Government, 澳門政府, Governo de Macau), are h ...

, 15 October, 2015 {{São Lourenço, Macau Official residences Landmarks in Macau Government buildings in Macau Government buildings completed in 1849 1849 establishments in China 1849 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 19th-century establishments in Macau Portuguese colonial architecture in China