Garden of Commander Ho Yin and Commemorative Pavilion of Macao Handover

The Garden of Commander Ho Yin lies between the Orient Arch of the roundabout of Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues and Avenida da Amizade, covering a total area of 12,600 square metres. Originally known as the “Xiangshan Park” and built in 1993, it was renamed in November 1996 in honour of Sir Ho Yin, leader of the Chinese community in Macao, who died in 1983. The Garden is connected to the Park of Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção to form a rectangular green corridor which, simply designed, offers a diverse array of facilities and carries a sense of modernity with it. For the purpose of urban development, the Garden of Commander Ho Yin was reconstructed in 2005. An underground parking lot was built and the garden as a whole was divided into two sections connected by an underground passage. In the section near Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, there were a badminton court, a library, a children’s playground and fitness facilities. In the other section near Avenida da Amizade, the original open air theatre and the Commemorative Pavilion of Macao Handover were kept. In 2019, the Sculpture Park of the Chinese Ethnics is relocated to the Garden of Commander Ho Yin.

The Commemorative Pavilion of Macao Handover was built on 30 November 1999 with the financial support of the Macao Chamber of Commerce, covering a total area of 75 square metres. Upon its completion on 18 March 2000, a ribbon-cutting and inaugural ceremony was held by Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, the then Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Government. It is comprised of two connected circles and a flat reinforced concrete building with a wall bearing a “99” mark to symbolise the “One Country, Two Systems” policy and Macao’s return to the motherland on 20 December 1999. The white jade orchid tree near the pavilion was planted on 1 January 2000 by Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah to celebrate the Arbour Day of the millennium, with its pleasing shape and fragrance symbolising Sir Ho Yin’s love for the country and Macao and his kind nobility.