The building at No. 5, Rua de Sanches de Miranda is located within St. Lazarus’ District, in the central part of the Macao peninsula. The district was once at the boundary between the Portuguese residential area and Chinese villages, and for some time it was the residential area of a significant number of Chinese Catholics. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Portuguese administration in Macao carried out improvement works on the neighbourhood and the district, shaping the current street layout. No. 5, Rua de Sanches de Miranda is a neo-classical mansion, decorated with a yellow and white colour scheme, with exquisite decorative details on the gate and façade, giving it an overall elegant and dignified look.
Completed in 1925 as a private residence, the building at no. 5, Rua de Sanches de Miranda was used as the premises for Macao Sam Yuk School from 1953 to 1967, as well as the Macao branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1989, the Portuguese administration in Macao renovated it and thereafter, no. 5, Rua de Sanches de Miranda has served as office for various government departments and is currently used by the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church, a Protestant denomination, first started educational activities in Guangzhou in 1903. Since the 1930s, the Church has set up educational institutions in Hong Kong and Macao, named “Sam Yuk”. The Macao Sam Yuk School ceased operations in 1967 but was reinstated as an English academy in 1986. In 1993, the Macao government allocated Sam Yuk School to a site next to the Taipa Sports Complex for the construction of a new campus, which was officially inaugurated in 1996 and has since been in operation.
Macao, being an open city, has attracted various religious educational groups to establish their roots, reflecting the openness, internationality, and inclusiveness of Macao's education. This diversity is a significant aspect of Macao’s educational landscape.
