In response to the sudden fencing-in of a vacant plot in the heritage-protected Chi Lam Village (茨林村) near the Ruins of St Paul’s and Na Tcha Temple last Tuesday, the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) placed a notice shortly afterwards, demanding that the fence be remove otherwise the perpetrator would face a fine of 200,000 patacas.
However, villagers told the Post yesterday that someone had meanwhile torn down the notice.
The idle plot, which long served as both a fire escape route and communal gathering space steeped in villagers’ memories, yesterday was still fenced off, thereby restricting access to the history-laden area, a move that has sparked, anger, frustration and nostalgia among the several dozen villagers.
Chi Lam Chuen (“Potato Field Village”) is a 400-year-old “living history” hamlet, where, for instance, Macau’s first anatomy textbook was translated from English into Chinese, and the village even featured in Bruce Lee’s (李小龍) classic film “Fist of Fury”. Historians have described it as a “living fossil” of walled-village culture. Chi Lam Chuen’s rising historical prominence has prompted the local government to plan heritage upgrades, while its residents have voiced concerns about “someone’s” perceived attempt at opportunistic exploitation of the area’s cultural revival.
The area has also drawn an increasing number of locals and visitors in the wake of the huge global success of Chinese animated fantasy action-adventure film “Ne Zha 2”.
The village includes a café dedicated to Taoist protection deity Ne Zha (known as “Na Tcha” in the local Cantonese dialect. One of Macau’s two Na Tcha temples is located near the village. “Ne Zha 2” has become China’s most successful film to date, raking in over US$2.2 billion so far.
On Saturday afternoon, a concern group set up by the villagers held a brainstorming session with the Macao Community Construction Promotion Association, aiming to explore balanced preservation and development strategies for the village.
Prof. Zheng Jianyi from the Faculty of Humanities and Arts at the private Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) pointed out during Saturday’s meeting that Chi Lam Chuen’s unique cultural fabric calls for small-scale, community-driven interventions rather than massive redevelopment, advocating “negotiated micro-renovations” through participatory design.
The Post attended Saturday’s meeting to report about it.
The convener of the concern group, Ip Tat, who lives in the village, emphasised during the meeting that Chi Lam Chuen’s rich cultural fabric, preserved through generations of historical narratives, rivals Zhuhai’s Beishan Village in cultural ambiance. He proposed developing it as a creative cultural village, integrating heritage with specialty industries to cater to enthusiasts of history, gastronomy, and ancestral roots.
The Post published a story about the issue on Wednesday last week, headlined Chi Lam Vai villagers face suddenlyfenced-in plot. https://www.macaupostdaily.com/news/25365
Chi Lam Vai (“Potato Field Courtyard”), known as in Portuguese as Pátio do Espinho (“Thorn Courtyard”), is the address of the village’s café dedicated to Na Tcha – called Chi Lam Café.
The Post published on March 3 an editorial headlined Ne Zha – China’s soft power answer to Mickey Mouse https://www.macaupostdaily.com/news/24225
The Post published a story about “Ne Zha 2” on July 10, headlined: English-language version of ‘Ne Zha 2’ to hit overseas cinemas https://www.macaupostdaily.com/news/25367
This photo taken yesterday afternoon shows the suddenly fenced-in plot of land next to a café dedicated to Na Tcha, one of the nation’s most popular deities, at 5 Pátio do Espinho in Chi Lam Village behind the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ruins of St Paul’s and Na Tcha Temple. – Photo: Armindo Neves
