Macau Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum of Macau showcase the deep connection of Macau with the surrounding sea geographically and historically. The rich history of Macau, being colonized by the Portuguese is exhibited in this ship-structured museum; as well as several interesting random trivia about sea travelers and their adventures.

The museum was built to commemorate "the sailors, pioneers in the friendship between the people of the Earth".

This special museum is located in the Inner Harbor of Macau, just beside the sea and the A-Ma Temple. If you look at the city's map, this location is far away from all the other museums of Macau. The site is believed to be the first group of Portuguese to reach Macao landed.

Museums would usually be seen next to each other or at least in the vicinity of each other. But the Maritime Museum is isolated from all the other museums of Macau; geographically at least. It is located in the Square of the Barra Pagoda, a place dedicated especially to the Taoist goddess "A-Ma."

A-Ma was considered the protector of fishermen; and the Square of the Barra Pagoda was also believed by the people to be the place where the Portuguese set foot in Macau for the first time.

Back then, the place was called "A MA GAO" which meant the harbor of A-Ma. Over time, "A MA GAO" became Macau; hence the country's name. Also, the building is structured in the form of a sailing ship that is anchored in the waters of the land's Inner Harbor.

At first glance, the Maritime Museum doesn't really look much like a museum because of its different structure. When you look at it, the museum looks small and one-floored. But when you enter and see the inside, you'll see the amazing form of a sailing ship strategically patterned for the Maritime Museum.

At the entrance of the museum, there's a small gift shop on the left side, and a sort of sculpture of a life-sized sailing ship on the right side. This gives the visitor the ambience of both seriousness and mystery of the Maritime Museum.

Lower Floor

documents the daily life style of the fishermen in Macao in the past.

Further on to the right side, there's a mini-theater place called "Little A-Ma Theatre" where you could listen to the legend of the goddess A-Ma in joyful tones and beautiful presentation. The audience could sit down and hear the legend in Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin, and English through the provided headphones.

Also on the ground floor are the traditions of the people who lived in fishing villages in Macau and South China, as well as their various ways and sources of living. There's also a place where a typical family that living in these villages is portrayed through life-sized string puppets.

• The 'Little A-Ma theatre" presents the tale of the Goddess A-Ma, the protector of the Sea
• A fisherman's house where one can see how they lived
• A fisherman's small shop with a man smoking through a bamboo tube and a woman selling shrimps and drying salted fish
• Fishermen's costumes in Southern China
• Replicas of fishing boats and fishing tools
• Displays of major important Chinese festivals

Second Floor

• A replica of an ancient bamboo raft and other vessels from all over the world
• Explanations of the voyages of Admiral Cheng who reached the Middle East and African Mombassa at the beginning of the 15th century
• Displays of the goods traded in the 16th century such as porcelain, tea, silk, etc.
• Japanese musketeer costumes of the 16th century
• Navigation instruments

When you go up from the first floor to the mezzanine, various replicas of ships of all kinds and sizes can be seen on the wall.

These ships are accurate reproductions of the real ones, which are the Portuguese traditional ships. There are also some notes on their origin and functions on display.

If you go further, you'll see yourself in a place where many gadgets and instruments used in a ship can be found.

Included in this collection are some instruments that were used by the Portuguese colonizers such as the cross-staff, dial and astrolabe while other instruments that can be seen were invented by the Chinese like the balanced ship's wheel, side bulkheads, and most importantly, the compass.

Furthermore, what can be found on this floor are gadgets and instruments, not just for the ships at sea, but also relevant information for the development of Maritime Technology and Transport.

Third Floor

• Models of modern ship
• Maritime technology like the radar, seafaring instruments and techniques
• Guia Lighthouse replica
• Macau weather monitor

Recent technologies in the field of marine transportation are displayed in this area as well. For example, the jetfoil, which links Macau to Hong Kong is explained and discussed in this area.

As you go down from the floors where there are endless displays about marine gadgets and technology, you are brought to a place where there are many interesting creatures.

On the way to the exit, you pass through an appealing and interesting place where there are aquariums on one side and fossils on the other. The aquariums contain various kinds of fishes, sea creatures, and coral reefs.

To add to the fun and excitement that this one of a kind museum has, a bar is situated outside where the tired visitors could relax and have a snack or two before leaving.

Location: Largo do Pagode da Barra, 1.
Opening hours: From 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays.
Tickets: 10 to under 18: 5 patacas (from Monday to Saturday) and 3 patacas (on Sunday); 18 to under 65: 10 patacas (from Monday to Saturday) and 5 patacas (on Sunday); under 10, 65 or above: free of charge.
Tel: (853) 28595481,28595483
Fax: (853) 28512160
Bus routes: 1,1A,2,5,6,7,9,10,10A, 11,18,21,21A,28B,34.

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