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Taipa
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Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (formerly the Portuguese colony of Macau). It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Macau International Airport, University of Macau, Macau Jockey Club and Macau Stadium are situated in Taipa, and three bridges connect the island to Macau Peninsula.
Most Chinese settlement of Taipa occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, while the Portuguese occupied the island in 1851.
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Encyclopedia
Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (formerly the Portuguese colony of Macau). It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Macau International Airport, University of Macau, Macau Jockey Club and Macau Stadium are situated in Taipa, and three bridges connect the island to Macau Peninsula.
Most Chinese settlement of Taipa occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, while the Portuguese occupied the island in 1851. Prior to land reclamation, Taipa consisted of two islands: Greater Taipa and Lesser Taipa.
The 159.1-metre Big Taipa Hill is to the east, and Small Taipa Hill to the west. Central Taipa is plain as a result of siltation and land reclamation. Initially Taipa was connected to Coloane Island only by the Estrada do Istmo; but the town Cotai, built on reclaimed land, has now essentially connected the two islands into one piece of land, which is home to newly constructed mega-resorts, casinos, and convention and exhibition centers as of 2006. Taipa is connected to peninsular Macau by Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, Friendship Bridge and the Sai Van Bridge.
Taipa is predominantly a growing up-scale residential area, with many new apartment complexes under construction as of 2006.
The names of Taipa
In Chinese, Taipa has been known by many names over time, including ?? (Longhuan in Mandarin, meaning "Dragon Ring"), ?? (Jijing, "Chicken's neck"), ?? (Tanzai, "Pool"), and ??? (Longtouhuan, "Dragon's-Head Ring").
The Portuguese and English name "Taipa," according to legend, comes from an exchange between early Portuguese settlers on Taipa and local Chinese settlers. The Portuguese asked the Chinese the name (nome in Portuguese) of the place. The Chinese settlers were local grocery shopkeepers and spoke no Portuguese, but took the Portuguese nome for the Chinese ??, "sticky rice", which is pronounced similar to nome in Cantonese. Thinking the Portuguese settlers were asking if they sold sticky rice, the Chinese responded with "??," pronounced "dai ba" in Cantonese, meaning "a lot." The Portuguese, hearing the response, took this to be the name of the place. There is, however, no historical evidence to support this story. "Taipa" is also what the Portuguese call the clay-mud, rammed into moulds, used to build mud houses in Portugal in times gone by, in recent times referred to as Rammed Earth.
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 Cantonese 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 (??? or ????): named after bodhi tree
- Small Kun Yam Temple
- Tin Hau Temple
- Sam Po Temple: dedicated to the elder sister of Tin Hau
- Pak Tai Temple: dedicated to the Taoist God of the North
- Four-faced Buddha: purchased from Thailand in 1985
- Church of Our Lady of Carmel: Catholic, Taipa belongs to the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Parish.
Other:
See also
External links
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