macao, a geograputcally small city,

　　a cultural metropolis--culture heritages

　　of macao in my eyes.

　　since the port-opening in the mid-16th century,macao, a then small fishing willage, has nowadays become a prosperous metropolis. during the past over 400 years, it has been gradually shaping into a uniqe cimmunity of multi-religion, multi-culture and multi-convention, and also a piece of spectacular culture scenery in our great county.

　　you may say without any hesitation that macao is a place of tiny area; you may also say that macao is simply a center of gambling enterprise. but you may have neglected the fact that macao is also a museum of arts. in this pocket city with only 25.8 square kilometers in total, even smaller than the western district of peking, there lies over 100 ancient historical heritages, which made macao itself a great museum exhibiting the co-existence of eastern and western culture.

　　if we comare macao's night as the vanity fair, then at daytime, it transform into a capital of culture, exhibiting mandarin's house. a-ma temple, holy house of mercy,st.joseph's seminary and church, guia fortress, and so on. among those ancient architectures, some are chinese buddhist. temples or folk residences, others are western catholic churches or opero houses; some are of arabia of gothis architectured styles, and others express themselves with features from south european. all these culture heritages, simply and humbly spread among streets, civiliams and all corners of the city, with no single one seating itself in a deep yard surrounded by high walls.

　　from my point of view, the most charming character of macao's culture heritages does not lie in its temples, churches, walls or fortesses, but in people's beliefs and customs here. submerged in western culture for over 400 years, people of macao have never lost their self-identity as offspring of emperor yan and huang. during the period of getting harmoniously together with westerners, people of macao never gave up beliefs,conventions and rites kequeathed by their chinese ancestors. their merits such as honesty, tolerance and diligence convey the information that chinese culture was never replaced and has passed on unaltered from generation to generation.

　　travelling around this city, you will not feel any tension, for macao is not likong hongkong whose people come fast and go in a hurry. you will not feel lonely meanwhile, as heritages of

　　chinese culture will accompany you here and there. and you will not feel bored as well, because you may see and hear a basket if stories in this small but lovely city.

　　as an old chinese saying goes" one should be as inclusive as the ocean, which is vast because it admits hundreds of rivers." macao, like a cornucopia in the past four centuries, has gradually become a geographically small city and a culture metropolis as well. and here and now, i firmly trust that culture heritages in macao will last for long and will be shinning more brightly in the future.