Macao Garden: A Charming Land of Lotus

Macas is known as the “Treasure Land of Lotus”. Before the reclamation projects to create more land, the region was like a budding lotus in shape. After Macao returned to the motherland, the flag and emblem of the Special Administrative Region take lotus as the main element. A white lotus with three petals is under five stars. The three petals represent Macao Peninsula, Taipa and Coloanr. Meanwhile, the naming of many streets in Macao is also relevant to “lotus” (Lian), including Lianjin Lane, Lianfeng Lane and Lianfeng Street, and so on, which provides a glimpse of the preference of lotus in Macao.

The year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Special Administrative Region of Macao. Macao is actively preparing and bidding for a national lotus exhibition which will be complement to the Macao garden of Beijing Expo 2019 as a part of the celebration for the anniversaries. Because the deep rooted lotus culture, Macao garden is named as Lotus Garden for demonstrating the charm of the region and celebrating the two anniversaries together with the motherland during the Beijing Expo 2019.

Macao Garden is located in the exhibition area for Chinese horticulture and next to Hong Kong Garden and Taiwan Garden. Covering an area of about 2000 square meters, it is east and west oriented, facing Guirui Lake and the China Pavilion to the east and International Pavilions to the west. The main entrance of the garden is on the east. The square at the entrance is paved with gravel in waving pattern, showing distinctive Portuguese style. The gate pavilion of A-Ma Temple is used as the entrance. Yangchuan Rock (Rock of Foreign Ships) is placed on the side. The design means that western culture travels across the ocean into Macao through the gate pavilion of A-Ma Temple. Different miniature scenes with lotus of various materials are distributed in the garden for visitors to enjoy the beauty of lotus.

A Chinese-style pool is set in the center to place the Golden Lotus Sculpture as a symbol of Macao. A diversity of aquatic plants are planted around the sculpture, showing the inclusiveness of Macao for different culture.

The building at the rear part of the garden is the cloister imitating that in the western-style Moorish Barracks. The front part of the building is Indian-style arched voucher with three-leaf pattern as the decoration. The pointed decoration arranged along the crenelation on the parapet wall makes it more rhythmic. The building is painted in yellow with white patterns, showing great contrast to the rough granite base in color and texture. The architecture with blending characteristics also reflects the culture integration in Macao.

The cloister shows also the feature of the Maritime and Water Affairs Bureau with minor modification. Different parts of the garden are connected by the cloister behind the central pool. It is like adding a finishing touch to the garden which could be seen at the moment when visitors enter it. At the same time, it reveals that the park is stretching from east to west as a Macao style garden integrating western and eastern culture. As the garden connecting the China Pavilion and International Pavilions, the design of Macao garden adopts the idea of “Belt and Road Initiative” to highlight the crucial role of Macao in culture exchange between China and the west and the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

The design of Macao garden adopts the idea of “Belt and Road Initiative” to highlight the crucial role of Macao in culture exchange between China and the west and the ancient Maritime Silk Road.