Taipa
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Taipa (氹仔島; pinyin: Dàngzǐ Dǎo) is an island of Macau in the People's Republic of China. It is 2.5 kilometres away from peninsular Macau and is east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai.
- Area: 6.33 km² (1.5 x 3.5 km)
- Population: 7,000
Taipa used to be known as Longhuan (龍環 "Dragon Ring"), Jijing (雞頸 "Chicken's neck"), Tanzi (潭仔 "Pool"), and Longtouhuan (龍頭環 "Dragon's-Head Ring"). Chinese settlers mostly arrived in Taipa in Southern Song Dynasty. The Portuguese came in 1851. Before land-fill, Taipa consisted of two islands: the Greater Taipa and the Lesser Taipa.
There is a saying about the origin of the name "Taipa". Long time ago, the early Portugese settlers on Taipa asked the Chinese settlers the name ("nome" in Portugese) of the place. But the Chinese settlers that they asked were actually the shopkeepers of a grocery. The shopkeepers did not know Portugese 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 Portugese settlers were asking whether they sold sticky rice, and so they replied "大把" (pronounced as "tai pa") in Cantonese - which meant "a lot". The Portugese thought this was the name of the place. After that, "Taipa" became the common Portugese name of the place. But there is no historical evidence to show that the saying is true.
Taipa was originally two islands. The 159.1-metre Big Taipa Hill (大氹山) situates 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 is connected to Coloane by the Estrada do Istmo (路氹公路 or 連貫公路), and to peninsular Macau by Nobre Governador Carvalho Bridge (嘉樂庇大橋 or 澳氹大橋, locally known as "Old Bridge") of 1974 , Friendship Bridge (中葡友誼大橋 Ponte de Amizade) of 1994 and the newest Sai Van Bridge (西灣大橋) in 2004.
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 (嘉謨聖母教堂): Catholic, Taipa belongs to the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Parish (聖嘉模堂區).
Other:
- Rua do Cunha
- Taipa House Museum (龍環葡韻住宅式博物館): Portuguese-styled houses [1] (http://housesmuseum.iacm.gov.mo/)
- Taipa Fort (砲台)
- Macau International Airport
- University of Macau
External link
- Heritage on Taipa (http://www.icm.gov.mo/heritage/list.asp?K=m&I=b&M=)