The two-month long Chi Lam Vai ancient well cleanup project’s second phase commenced on November 4, and Tang Kam Chun, a Chi Lam Village resident and vice-president of the Na Tcha Temple Association, he told the Post on Friday that dozens of lorryloads of construction waste have been removed in the ongoing second phase so far.
Pátio do Espinho (茨林圍 – Chi Lam Vai – in Cantonese), is a 400-year-old, formerly walled village that lies just a street away from the UNESCO World Heritage-protected Na Tcha Temple, one of Macau’s two temples dedicated to the divinity known in Putonghua as Nezha. It is also close to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ruins of St Paul’s.
On November 4, the Post interviewed Tang about the ancient well. Tang said that the well required restoration because 40 years ago workers from a nearby construction site illegally dumped a huge amount of construction waste in it.
Tang also said that on December 12, 2022, the day the well was reopened, a Japanese expert specialising in ancient wells was present for an inspection and noted that its structure resembles that of ancient wells in Japan.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has since then assembled a team of experts to conduct an in-depth study of the well’s structure, confirming that its history dates back approximately 400 years and is closely linked to the development of the village, Tang said.
Tang pointed out that during the first phase of the cleanup in 2023, over one hundred truckloads of construction waste were removed from it.
A part of “Fist of Fury” (精武門), a 1972 film featuring San Francisco-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor and filmmaker Bruce Lee (李小龍;1940-1973), was shot in Chi Lam Vai.
Chi Lam Village includes a café and souvenir shop dedicated to Na Tcha run by Tang, as well as a Thai restaurant. Both are popular with local and tourists alike.
Reportedly, Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon will attend a public event in Hong Kong on November 27.
This photo taken on November 3 shows the ancient well in Chi Lam Vai that is still undergoing its second cleanup. – Photo courtesy of Na Tcha Temple Association Vice-President Tang Kam Chun
Cleaners load construction waste dredged from the well onto a lorry on Friday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
