A-Ma goddess statue

A-Ma is the goddess of seafarers. This statue, sculptured by Lung Man Nin and erected in 1998, is the tallest A-Ma statue in the world!

Legend relates that A-Ma protected fishermen and merchants who sailed to Macau. In gratitude for her protection from the perils of the sea, a temple was erected on Barra hill and she was worshipped long before the Portugueses arrived, back in the 16th century. When the Portugueses settled here, they called the land "Macau", meaning "the port of A-Ma".