Taipa

Encyclopedia : T : TA : TAI : Taipa

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For the town in New Zealand, see Taipa-Mangonui.

Taipa (氹仔島; Cantonese Jyutping; Tam5 Zai2 Dou2; pinyin: Dàngzǎi Dǎo) is an island of Macau in the People's Republic of China. It is 2.5 kilometres from peninsular Macau and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Its Chinese name is Tamzai

• Area: 6.33 km² (1.5 x 3.5 km)
• Population: 7,000

Chinese settlers mostly arrived in Taipa in Southern Song Dynasty. The Portuguese occupied the island in 1851. Before land-fill, Taipa consisted of two islands: Greater Taipa and Lesser Taipa.

The 159.1-metre Big Taipa Hill (大氹山) is to the east, and Small Taipa Hill (小氹山) to the west. Central Taipa is plain as a result of siltation and land reclamation. It was connected to Coloane Island only by the Estrada do Istmo (路氹連貫公路); but the town Cotai, built on reclaimed land, has now essentially connected the two islands into one piece of land, having new constructions of mega-resorts, casinos, and convention and exhibition centers as of 2006. Taipa is connected to peninsular Macau by Nobre Governador Carvalho Bridge, Friendship Bridge and the Sai Van Bridge.

Taipa is mainly a growing up-scale residential area, with many new apartment complexes underconstruction as of 2006.

The names of Taipa

Taipa used to be known as Longhuan (龍環 "Dragon Ring"), Jijing (雞頸 "Chicken's neck"), Tanzai (潭仔 "Pool"), and Longtouhuan (龍頭環 "Dragon's-Head Ring"). There is a saying about the origin of the name "Taipa". A long time ago, the early Portuguese settlers on Taipa asked the Chinese settlers the name ("nome" in Portuguese) of the place. The Chinese settlers that they asked were actually the shopkeepers of a grocery. The shopkeepers did not know Portuguese and thought they said "糯米" in Cantonese Chinese - which meant "sticky rice" - since "nome" and "糯米" had similar pronunciations. The shopkeepers thought the Portuguese settlers were asking whether they sold sticky rice, and so they replied "大把" (pronounced as "dai ba") in Cantonese - which meant "a lot". The Portuguese thought this was the name of the place. After that, "Taipa", which had similar pronunciation, became the common Portuguese name of the place. However, there is no historical evidence to show that the saying is true. It is also worth noting that, as the great majority of the population in Taipa and Macau is Chinese, most people refer to this island by its Chinese name "Tamzai", and most taxi drivers and bus drivers will not understand if asked how to go to "Taipa".

Tourism

Religious:

• Pou Tai Un Temple (菩提園 or 菩提襌院): named after bodhi tree
• Small Kun Yam Temple (觀音岩)
• Tin Hau Temple (天后宮)
• Sam Po Temple (三婆廟): dedicated to the elder sister of Tin Hau
• Pak Tai Temple (北帝廟): dedicated to the Taoist God of the North
• Four-faced Buddha (四面佛): purchased from Thailand in 1985
• Church of Our Lady of Carmel (嘉模聖母教堂): Catholic, Taipa belongs to the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Parish (聖嘉模堂區).

Other:

• Rua do Cunha, Taipa Village
• Macau Jockey Club
• Macau Stadium
• Taipa House Museum (龍環葡韻住宅式博物館): Portuguese-styled houses [link]
• Taipa Fort (砲台)
• Macau International Airport
• University of Macau
• Macau University of Science and Technology

See also

External links

• [Heritage on Taipa]
• [Satellite image of Taipa by Google Maps]

 

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