The Soulful Spring of Macau's Earliest Portuguese Settlement

A Po Jing Square is home to a century-old freshwater well that nourishes the most poetic slopes of Macau. Yellow-walled Portuguese-style houses cascade along the hillside, while blue-and-white ceramic street signs and black iron lamps evoke a Southern European charm. The roots of ancient banyan trees hang into the stone well, reflecting the floral headscarves of 16th-century water-fetching women. The old saying "Drink well water, live in Western-style houses" still echoes along the stone steps, though the dragon-head fountain has transformed into a refreshing playground for children. The sweet aroma of serradura pudding wafts from behind mint-green shutters, while the Lingnan-style carved gate of Zheng Family Mansion converses silently with the Baroque dome of St. Lawrence's Church at the end of the alley. As night falls, the warm glow of wall lamps reflects on the cobblestone ground, and one might imagine a native Portuguese resident in wooden clogs passing by with a kerosene lamp. Take a seat on the stone railing of the well and watch as climbing ivy turns colonial history into a lush, harmonious cultural coexistence. When the church bells startle the white doves into flight, you'll realize that the true treasure of this World Heritage-surrounded slope is not the architecture, but the gentle way time seems to pause here.