Macau’s Chi Lam Vai Concern Group hosted a one-day Chinese New Year (CNY) couplets giveaway event at its coffee shop Amigos do Espinho (茨林) on Saturday, with the objective of enriching the neighbourhood culture of one of Macau’s most iconic, village-style communities.
According to the concern group’s convenor-cum-Na Tcha Temple Association president, Ip Tat, the event aimed to enrich the neighbourhood culture of Chi Lam Vai Village.
The event was attended by former Executive Council spokesman and lawmaker Leong Heng Teng and Na Tcha Temple Association Vice-President Tang Kam Chun.
Speaking to the Post on the sidelines of the event, Ip said that he expressed his group’s gratitude to the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) for restoring the ancient well in the village recently. Ip said he hopes that the well will be added to Macau’s cultural heritage list and that street lamps will be installed there to attract tourists and ensure visitor flows’ safety.
Ip said he also hopes that the government will speed up the revitalisation of the village and ensure better protection of its 400-year-old history, thereby contributing to the promotion of a peculiar aspect of Macau’s unique heritage.
Pátio do Espinho (“Courtyard of the Thorn”) – Chi Lam Vai (茨林圍) in Cantonese – is a 400-year-old 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.
The coffee shop Amigos do Espinho is a café dedicated to the Taoist Na Tcha belief. Na Tcha, known as Nezha in Putonghua, is a Taoist divinity. “Ne Zha 2” is a 2025 Chinese anime fantasy adventure film-based Taoist faith and the 16th century novel “Investiture of the Gods”. The highly successful film was released on the first day of the Chinese New Year on January 29, 2025. It is the highest-grossing non-English language film and the first animated film in history to cross the US$2 billion market.
Na Tcha is widely regarded as the patron god of children and filial piety, as well as the tutelary deity of professional drivers. Na Tcha is one of Macau’s most popular tutelary gods, alongside Kun Iam (Guanyin) and A-Ma (Mazu).
Chi Lam Vai Concern Group Convenor-cum-president of Na Tcha Temple Association Ip Tat (left), former Executive Council spokesman and lawmaker Leong Heng Teng (second from left), Na Tcha Temple Association Vice-President Tang Kam Chun (third from left) and Chi Lam Vai village residents pose during the Chinese Year New (CNY) couplets giveaway event at the Amigos do Espinho (茨林) café on Saturday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
