The Government Headquarters open to public on the weekend of 19 and 20 October.
The Government Headquarters Open Day sessions will this year be held on the weekend of 19 and 20 October, and from 9am to 6pm on both days. The sessions will feature a series of performances, flower displays and a photography exhibition.
This year the flower display themes celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region. The floral arrangements are contributions to the community festivities for the two anniversaries.
Near the Government Headquarters’ lawn area, in a display zone, will sit a decorative clock, with its hands pointing respectively to “1949” and “2019”, illustrating the journey from the year the People’s Republic of China was founded, up to now. Flowers by the lawn will be arranged to form the number “70” to mark the founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, whilst at the back of the flower beds, there will be two decorations in the form of bridges, representing the interconnection of the motherland and Macao, and the congeniality that exists between them.
Two decorations in the form of postcards – with “Macao” written in Chinese characters and in Portuguese – will stand opposite each other on the lawn. The whole setting is designed to enable visitors to take souvenir photographs and ‘selfies’.
The Open Day sessions will also offer guided tours of the upper floor of the Government Headquarters. There will additionally be a display in the Multi-purpose Room of the main building – the Protocol Palace – titled “Photography Exhibition in Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Return of Macao to the Motherland”.
In conjunction with the Open Day sessions, there will be a series of performances – by respectively the Macao Police Band and the Macao Youth Choir – for members of the public to enjoy while visiting the Government Headquarters buildings.
The Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau will set up a temporary postal counter nearby at Nam Van Lake, to sell Macao philatelic products and provide a commemorative postmark service for such products.
In addition, a facility offering visitors a commemorative ink stamp will be available for the first time during Open Day sessions. People bringing with them a suitable piece of paper can stamp it either at the exit point of the tour route, or at a temporary counter located near Nam Van Lake.
The public can enter the Government Headquarters by the entrance on Travessa do Paiva. It is located on the right-hand side of the Protocol Palace as visitors face the front of the main building. Once in the grounds, visitors should follow a designated route, which includes stops at the Multi-purpose Room and the Lotus Room on the ground floor of the Protocol Palace. Via the marble staircase to the first floor, visitors can explore the Grand Hall, the Green Hall, the Yellow Hall and the Blue Hall.
For the convenience of visitors, special traffic management arrangements will be in force during the Open Day sessions in part of Travessa do Paiva. Motorists are urged to pay attention to the temporary traffic signs and follow police advice.
Visitors are advised to take care when navigating steps on their visit to the Government Headquarters. Selfie sticks, pets, umbrellas, drinks and food are all barred from the premises.
For more information, please visit https://www2.sasg.gov.mo/en or telephone +853 2872 6886 during office hours. The website also features a 360-panoramic photograph of the Government Headquarters, to offer visitors a unique perspective of the complex.