Q & A
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Which is the first street of Macao being given a name?
The Macao authorities gave names to a group of streets as early as in 1869 by publishing their names in the Official Bulletin of that year.
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What are the different types of street in Macao?
The streets of Macao come in a variety of denominations, with some of them adopting traditional Chinese denominations, some are influenced by Western culture with names beginning with words like escada (staircase), rampa (slope), calçada (sidewalk), istmos (isthmus), patio (terrace) and beco (alleyway).
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Which streets of Macao have funny/strange names?
Macao has many streets with funny or strange names. For instance like Rua dos Bem Casados, Azinhaga dos Amores, Travessa das Virtudes, Travessa das Lindas, Rua do Sol, Escada do Coxo and Rua do Interior.
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What are the significances behind the patterns of the Portuguese style pavements across Macao?
The patterns mainly draw elements from the local history, cultures or regional features of Macao. These patterns serve to reveal the characteristics that are unique to Macao.
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Did any of Macao’s streets disappear in the course of urban development?
Naturally, some old streets vanished and are replaced by new ones alongside urban development. The ones with name associated with village or small fishing port, which was the setting of Macao in the old days, are almost all gone.
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What’s the difference between “Estrada” and “Avenida”?
“Estrada” refers to a main thoroughfare for fast vehicles which is usually broad and long. “Avenida” is also a main thoroughfare, broad and long and is flanked by trees along its sides.
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What’s the difference between “Calçada” and “Rampa”?
“Calçada” is a roadway paved with small stones while “Rampa” is an inclined roadway.
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What kind of materials is used for making street or road name plates?
The plates of nowadays are an assemblage of 8 under-glazed ceramic tiles. They came in varied forms in the past, like concrete plates inscribed with the name of street and road or were made of granite.
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What are the principles applied by IAM in street and road naming?
When IAM is to name a street or road, it will hold meetings to discuss what kind of name to be used. The considerations are its location, surrounding architecture and whether any special incidents happened at the time of the naming. It also considers other issues like about the memorability of the name and its acceptability by the public.
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How to determine the location for placement of street and road name plates?
It is dependent on the actual conditions of the site. Some of them are affixed to the wall, erected on the pavement or refuge island. Yet, the majority of them are erected at the entrance of the street or road to make it easy for the public to catch sight of it.
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What is the size of a street and road name plate?
A plate assembled by 8 under-glazed ceramic tiles measures 30cm by 60cm.
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Why do the Portuguese and Chinese names of some streets or roads do not carry the same meaning?
The actual reason behind is already untraceable. Perhaps the Portuguese name came first and then the Chinese name was designated according to actual situations. The Chinese name is not a direct translation of the Portuguese name and was decided by the Municipal Council by then.
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Why do some streets or roads in Macao bear the same name?
As street or road naming was taken care by two municipal organs before Macao’s Handover to China, having duplicate names is possible.
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How many street name plates can be placed in a street?
The number of plates is determined by the length of the street.
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What are the principles applied by IAM in street and road naming?
When IAM is to name a street or road, it will hold meetings to discuss what kind of name to be used. The considerations are its location, surrounding architecture and whether any special incidents happened at the time of the naming. Memorability of the name and its acceptability by the public are also taken into consideration.
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What are the principles adopted by IAM in the translation of Chinese and Portuguese name of streets?
When IAM names a street or road, it will consider the actual situation to decide whether to translate its name by transliteration or by paraphrase (expression of the meaning). For transliteration, it is based on Cantonese or Mandarin dialect.
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