A Museum tour around Macau (II)

　　The Wine Museum 葡萄酒博物馆

　　The Wine Museum near the Macau — Hong Kong Pier is a space of cultural, recreational and educational funct ions. The exhibition hall consists of three areas: the history of viniculture, the cellar, and the wine displa ys. Visitors can learn a lot from the texts, maps, phot os, utensils, simulated cellars, representations of the various stages of viniculture, and exhibits of vintage and new wines.

　　The 1,4000 m2 museum displays an allotment of more than 1,050 wine brands, including 700 commercial wines and 300 collection wines. The oldest one is an 1815 Mad eira Wine on display among others in the cellar section . Visitors may conclude their tour with wine tasting wh ich is free of charge.

　　Next to the Wine Museum, the Grand Prix Museum show cases the history of the world-famous annaul Macau Gran d Prix over the past four decades through a great numbe r of motor racing photos and descriptions in the Chines e, English and Portuguese languages.

　　The museum presents a rich collection of Formula 3 racing cars and motorcycles that participated in the pa st races along with memorabilia related to the events. Among the exhibits are the models of the supporting fac ilities used in the racing events such as first aid and refuelling stations. The 40-seat mini-theatre, a recent addition to the museum, will make your visit even more enjoyable with film clips on highlights of the Macau Gr and Prix and races elsewhere in the world.

　　The Maritime Museum 海事博物馆

　　A street away from the A-Ma Temple, the white Marit ime Museum building looks like a sailboat moored at the inner harbour of the enclave.

　　The museum not only focuses on Macau but also syste matically covers the Chinese and Portuguese maritime hi story. The exhibition consists of historical relics, mo dels and representations of nautical equipment, naval w eaponry and sea trade. There is also a gallery of aquar iums that vividly reflect the under-water world.

　　by Zhen Lin