Oriental Foundation Site, Macau Old Christian Cemetery, built in 1821

It has been a long time since I visited a cemetery. This time I went to Macau, and walked to the White Dove Park and the old Christian cemetery next to the Oriental Foundation.

In the 16th century, only Catholics were allowed to be buried in Macau, and foreigners could not be buried north of the gate. This place was built in 1821 and was the first cemetery where Protestants could be legally buried. The wild graves that were secretly buried between the city wall and the gate were moved in, so there are tombstones older than 1821, most of which are British merchants and generals who came to China. Some are quite young and should have died in battle.

There is a small white church in front of the cemetery. It is the oldest Protestant missionary in Macau. In order to commemorate the first Protestant missionary to China, it was named Morrison Church. It was also Morrison who first translated the full text of the Bible into Chinese and published it, so "In the beginning was the Word" is written on the main window of the church.

Only thirty-six years later, the Portuguese authorities banned any dead from being buried in the city, so the cemetery was closed and has remained like this ever since.