Ruins of Saint Paul's

Start at the bottom of the steps. Feel the granite under your shoes, worn smooth by centuries of feet. Above you, a single stone wall stands against the sky. It is carved from top to bottom, and there is nothing behind it. Through its empty windows you can see clouds moving. On a humid Macau afternoon, the stone feels warm when you touch it, and the air carries the smell of roasting meat and sugar from the shops below.

What you are looking at is the front of a church that no longer exists. This was the Church of Mother of God, part of the Jesuit College of Saint Paul. The college was one of the first Western-style universities in East Asia. The church was built in the early seventeenth century, and the carved stone facade was finished around the middle of that century. For about two hundred years, this hill held one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia.

To understand why it stood here, think about where Macau sat on the map. The Portuguese settled here in the sixteenth century. This small peninsula on the South China coast became a key port between Europe, China and Japan. Jesuit missionaries — members of a Catholic religious order famous for education and travel — used Macau as their base. Priests trained here before they travelled inland to China or by sea to Japan. Many of them learned Chinese at the college.

Now climb a little, and look closely at the facade. The stone does not tell only a European story. Historians believe that local Chinese craftsmen worked on the carvings. They worked alongside Japanese Christians who had fled persecution in their own country. An Italian Jesuit is often credited with the overall design. So this is a Catholic wall, built in a Chinese port, by hands from several cultures. That mix is the real reason the wall feels so unusual.

Here is the first detail most visitors miss. Find the carving of a sailing ship on one of the middle levels. Nearby, there is a female figure standing on a many-headed dragon. Next to her, look for Chinese characters cut into the stone. The inscriptions describe the Holy Mother trampling the dragon's head. Christian symbols are explained in Chinese script, so that local people could read the message. It is an early example of a faith being translated in stone.

Keep your eyes moving across the same level. You will find a skeleton, and a devil pierced by an arrow. These are warnings about death and sin, a common theme in Catholic art of the period. Higher up, there are statues of saints, a figure of the Virgin Mary, and a figure of Christ. At the very top, a bronze dove spreads its wings. In Christian art, the dove stands for the Holy Spirit. The wall reads from bottom to top, almost like a sermon.

So what happened to the rest of the church? In 1835, during a typhoon, a fire broke out in the college buildings. The flames spread quickly. The wooden roof and interior were destroyed, and the college and church were lost. Only the granite front survived, along with the steps and some foundations. For many years afterwards, the facade stood alone on the hill. It was a strange monument, open to the wind and rain.

The wall's survival is not an accident of luck alone. Granite is hard and does not burn. But the wall was never designed to stand by itself. In the 1990s, engineers and archaeologists worked on the site. They reinforced the facade from behind with a discreet support structure, so it would not fall. If you walk around to the back, you can see this steel and concrete frame. Most people only photograph the front and never notice it.

Here is the second surprise. Behind the wall, excavations uncovered the foundations of the old church. Today you can walk over the outline of the nave, the long central space where worshippers once stood. Below ground there is a crypt, and a small museum of sacred art. The crypt holds the remains of Christian martyrs from Japan and Vietnam. The museum displays religious paintings and objects from Macau's churches. It is a quiet, cool space, and very different from the crowds out front.

In 2005, this wall became part of the Historic Centre of Macao, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO is the United Nations body that protects places of cultural importance. The listing covers a chain of old squares, churches, temples and Portuguese buildings. Together, they show more than four centuries of meetings between Chinese and Western cultures. The facade has become the best-known symbol of Macau, and you will see its outline on souvenirs all over the city.

Look to your side, and up the hill. That is Monte Fort, built by the Jesuits around the same period. Its cannons once guarded the city. Locals tell a popular story that these guns helped drive off a Dutch attack in the early seventeenth century. The fort is a short walk away. From its walls, you can look down on the facade and across the old rooftops toward the modern towers and casinos. The contrast between old and new is very clear from up there.

When you walk back down the steps, notice the streets below. The narrow lane leading toward Senado Square is lined with small shops. Vendors hand out samples of almond cookies, egg rolls and thin slices of sweet dried meat. The Portuguese-style pavement uses small black and white stones set in wave patterns. Cantonese, Portuguese, Mandarin and English all mix in the air. In a way, the street continues the same story the wall tells.

Before you leave, stand at the bottom of the steps once more. Look up at the empty windows. Through them you see only sky, where once there were candles, prayers and a roof full of painted wood. The wall is both a front door and a gravestone. Take a moment with it. Then turn, and let the noise of the street carry you back into the living city around it.