The Cultural Heritage Committee agreed yesterday with the relocation of a shrine on the wall of the former Hotel Estoril (愛都酒店) to the wall next to a nearby staircase, Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man said yesterday after the committee’s second plenary meeting this year, at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape.
Leong is the acting chairperson of the committee.
According to Leong, the shrine, which nowadays is dedicated to various deities, was originally built by Thai people in the late 1970s to worship the four-faced Buddha but gradually became a shrine to a number of divinities.
Leong said that the relocation will take place once the construction of the new Central Library begins, adding that the reason for its relocation is due to the shrine not being “a proper one” and being “disorganised” as it is dedicated to multiple gods. Moreover, Leong noted that the shrine is a fire hazard, which could pose problems for the new library, pointing out that if the shrine is not relocated, the construction work on the library could damage it.
TheCentral Library will be built on the plot of Hotel Estoril which will be demolished.
Leong acknowledged that the shrine’s history and culture are respected by the people in the neighbourhood, so the committee decided to relocate it close to its original location. Leong stressed that the relocation will be carried out and managed by the area’s mutual help association.
Meanwhile, Leong also said that an old tree growing close to the hotel’s exterior wall at the same location as the shrine would be preserved, despite the fact that the tree is only around 50 years old so that it is not qualified to be listed as one of the city’s protected old trees. She added that some temporary props will be supporting the tree during the construction in order to keep it intact.
Leong added that the new library will reserve a space of 5.5 metres x 4 metres for the old tree, therefore reducing the library’s construction area.
Leong also discussed government plans to subsidise the repairs of the building and staircase of Santa Rosa de Lima Secondary School (聖羅撒女子中學) because of its long history. The committee members agreed with the government to pay for the repairs.
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President and Cultural Heritage Committee Acting Chairperson Leong Wai Man (right) and committee member and spokesperson Wu Chou Kit speak with reporters after yesterday’s second plenary meeting of this year at the Macau Cultural Centre in Nape. Photo: Rui Pastorin
This artist’s rendition from the Cultural Heritage Committee shows where the shrine will be located in the future.
