“Guan Bo Hang Toi” and Pátio do Amparo

The “Guan Bo Hang Toi” (Customs Service Branch) of Macao is a branch of the Maritime Customs Service of Guangdong province. It had a customhouse along Praia Grande Bay, Barra district, “Tai Ma Tau” (Big Pier) and the Border Gate. According to historical records, the“Guan Bo Hang Toi”was a large mansion of three-hall structure with fenced courtyard and main entrance facing an open space where two flagpoles were erected. The cloth flag of the right flagpole carried the big Chinese character“關”(customs) and the left one carried“部”(department) to lend an air of authority to the premises.

After the First Opium War, the “Guan Bo Hang Toi” was demolished in 1849. Later on, a part of the land occupied by Calçada do Amparo was sold to Chinese merchants for construction of a mansion with traditional grey-blue bricks in Chinese geomantic (feng-shui) design. The site of the mansion is in today’s Pátio do Amparo, which has a Chinese-style rectangular archway erected at both of its entrances. The two-hall mansion, with a“回”layout, had a winding corridor in between the halls, two entrances, two courtyards, four patios and four water wells.