The wave pattern on the ground is not painted on — it is made from thousands of small stones called 'calçada portuguesa', or Portuguese cobblestones. Each stone is placed by hand, one at a time, to create the flowing design. It is a bit like a giant puzzle on the ground, and skilled workers must plan the pattern carefully before laying a single stone.
The square itself is quite large — roughly the size of three or four tennis courts — and acts as a kind of outdoor living room for Macau. On ordinary days, people stop there to eat ice cream, take photos, or sit on the low walls and watch the world go by. On festival days, performers, lanterns and food stalls fill every corner.
The buildings around the square are painted in bright shades typical of Portuguese architecture. Many of them have shuttered windows and ornate plaster decorations around the doors and rooflines. Looking straight across the square, at the far end, the old Senate building with its green-and-white tiled facade is often the first building children photograph.
The word 'Senado' means 'Senate' in Portuguese, and a senate is a place where important local decisions were discussed. The square was used for public meetings and announcements for centuries. Today it is simply a great place to stand at the centre of everything Macau has to offer.