China · 16th century
Section of the Old City Walls of Macau ranks #5,580 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #56 of the 103 mapped in China. Founded 1569, it is older than 35% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 887 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Zhuhai, 9 km away. See how China compares in the castle statistics.
The Section of the Old City Walls are the remains of a wall that surrounded the colonial city of Macau, in Portuguese Macau, in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The wall's construction is unique because it was built of clay, sand, rice straw, rocks, and oyster shells.
Its construction began as early as 1569, and the wall was used as a defensive measure against attacks by the Chinese and other invaders.
After a failed attempt by the Dutch to invade the city in 1622, it was fortified and greatly improved to withstand future military attacks. Because the wall was not properly maintained, it slowly collapsed over time, and only small portions still remain.
The Section of the Old City Walls is now part of the UNESCO Historic Centre of Macau World Heritage Site.
Text adapted from “Walls of Macau” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
View on the interactive castle map →