The Mandarin's House
The Mandarin's House
The Mandarin's House built around 1869 was the ancestral home of Zheng Guanying. The construction of the house was initiated by Zheng Wenrui, the father of Zheng Guanying, and the house was later expanded by the Zheng brothers. The house occupies an area of 4000m2 on which are buildings and open spaces designed in various architectural styles. The entire complex has more than 60 rooms in total. A private residence of such scale is rare in Macau.
The layout of the Mandarin's House can be divided into two zones: front and back. The front area encompasses the gatehouse, the servant's quarters, the main garden and its connecting building. The back area is the masters' quarters, mainly consisting of two traditional Guangdong courtyard houses of symmetrical arrangement. These two houses are separated by an alleyway, but are linked by hallways on second level. On plan, each house is of three bays in width and two halls in depth. There is a patio in the central bay between the halls along the main axis of the house. Similarly, both houses are two storeys in front view, but are three storeys high at the back.
The Mandarin's House has the essential characteristics of traditional Guangdong residence, yet it also features a fusion of architectural influences from other cultures, making it a unique product that demonstrates the encounter and interchange between Chinese and Western cultures.
Opening Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (No admission after 5.30 p.m., closed on Wednesday & Thursday)