Macao: Ruins of St Paul's

Today I got two cards: my first card from Macao and one from Germany.

Macao is one of two Special Administrative Regions of China and is located 50km away from Hong Kong. Until 1999 was Macao a Portuguese colony. The most people in Macao speak Cantonese. Macao is famous for the sights from the colonial time and for the casinos. Gambling is legal in Macao and thus many people from China and Hong Kong come, because of this Macao is since 2006 the World's biggest Gambling centre. Macao is also one of the World's richest cities, has a the second highest life expectancy in the World and has also a very high Human Development Index.

The card shows the Ruins of St. Paul's in the Historic Centre of Macao. The Church of Mater Dei built between 1602 and 1640 and St. Paul's College were destroyed by a fire in 1835. Since then the remaining facade and the front steps showed on the card became Macao's landmark. The Historic Centre of Macao is one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West and provides a unique testimony to the meeting of influences from East and West. Since 2005 is the Historic Centre of Macao a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamp:
Henrique de Senna Fernandes (issued 09-10-2012)
Henrique de Senna Fernandes (1923-2010) was a writer, teacher and lawyer from Macao. He was from Portuguese ancestry and studied Law at Coimbra University in Portugal. He practised Law in Macao, although his true passion was writing and teaching. Later he became a teacher and principal at the Pedro Nolasco Commercial School in Macao. He published four books. A famous quote of him is "Portugal is my fatherland and Macao is my motherland".

Thank You very much Chloe!