The government’s first-phase revitalisation of Coloane’s Lai Chi Vun shipyards area will open on Saturday afternoon, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced in a statement last night.
The statement said that the revitalised area will feature a thematic exhibition and a market, as well as buskers’ performances and workshops.
According to the statement, the revitalised area covering the five plots of X11, X12, X13, X14 and X15 will open to members of the public at 3 p.m. on Saturday, after which an inauguration ceremony will be held at 6: 30 p.m. that day.
The first-phase revitalisation of the Lai Chi Vun shipyards area covers the five plots. The first-phase project got off the ground last year and was completed last month.
The Lai Chi Vun shipyards area was listed as a cultural heritage site in 2018.
There were initially about 16 shipyards in Lai Chi Vun Village, but several of them had previously collapsed. The Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) also demolished two badly dilapidated shipyards in 2017, so there are now about a dozen old shipyards remaining in the village, but many of them are in a tumbledown condition as well.
Last night’s statement noted that with the aim of creating a space for cultural and recreational activities on the theme of Macau’s traditional shipbuilding industry, the Cultural Affairs Bureau launched its project in 2021 to restore and revitalise the Lai Chi Vun shipyards area.
According to the statement, there will be a thematic exhibition that enables visitors to gain a better understanding of the history and culture of Lai Chi Vun Village and its shipyards.
The exhibition will be held on the X11 plot, a space used for exhibitions that will be open between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily, while the other four plots of X12, X13, X14 and X15 will be open 24/7, last night’s statement said.
In addition, the statement said, there will be a market comprising 15 stalls that will be open between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as on public holidays. The stalls will display and sell souvenirs with cultural characteristics of Coloane, as well as cultural and creative products and special snacks, the statement said.
The stalls will be set up on the X13 and X14 plots.
Moreover, according to the statement, the revitalised Lai Chi Vun shipyards area will also become a new busking location operating under the bureau’s busking programme. The new busking location will be open for buskers to perform between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as on public holidays.
Furthermore, the statement said, an area for art improvisation will also be set up in the revitalised Lai Chi Vun Village. The improvisation area will be open between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday as well as on public holidays, where paint and tools will be available for visitors to “paint freely”.
Admission is free to the revitalised Lai Chi Vun shipyards area.
This undated handout photo released by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) last night shows part of the completed first-phase revitalisation of Coloane’s Lai Chi Vun Village.
