Freguesia in Concelho das Ilhas
Coloane
(
Chinese
: 路環
,
Portuguese
:
Coloane
) is the southernmost area in
Macau
, connected to
Taipa
through the area known as
Cotai
, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Known as “
Lou Wan
” in
Cantonese
, Coloane forms the southern part of Macau. Its population consists of several settlements dotted around the parish, such as Vila de Coloane (Coloane Village), Hac Sa, Ka-Ho, and Cheoc Van. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish (
Portuguese
:
freguesia
) of
Sao Francisco Xavier
are coterminous with that of Coloane.
Etymology
[
edit
]
Coloane was historically known in
Cantonese
as
Gau Ou Saan
(九澳山
lit.
"Nine-inlet Mountain" or transcribed in Portuguese as
Ka-Ho
) and
Yim Jou Waan
(鹽?灣,
lit.
"Salt-stove Bay"). The
Portuguese
name of "Coloane" is derived from the
Cantonese
pronunciation of
Gwo Lou Waan
(過路環,
lit.
"Passing-road Ring").
Geography
[
edit
]
Coloane has an area of 8.07 km
2
(3 sq mi), is 4 km (2 mi) long and is 5.6 km (3 mi) from the
Macau Peninsula
. The narrowest part of Coloane is 300 metres (980 ft). The highest points in Macau are eastern and central Coloane, with the highest point being the 170.6 metres (560 ft)
Coloane Alto
(
Chinese
:
疊石塘山
;
Cantonese Yale
:
Daahpsehk Tohngs?an
,
Portuguese
:
Alto de Coloane
).
Before land reclamation works started beginning in the 1990s, Coloane was a former island, separated from Taipa by the bay of
Seac Pai Van
, which from 1969 was crossed by a 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) causeway, the Estrada do Istmo, connecting Coloane to Taipa. However by the early 2000s, extensive
land reclamation
physically connected the two islands and a new area called
Cotai
, intended primarily for entertainment and leisure purposes, was built between Taipa and Coloane, now home to the
Cotai Strip
and several other casino projects.
The northern shore of the parish is 4.5 metres (15 ft) deep,
[
citation needed
]
and is the site of the Macau Deepwater Port.
[
citation needed
]
The eastern
Hac Sa Beach
(Chinese:
黑沙海灘
; Cantonese Yale:
H?ks? Hoit?an
, Portuguese:
Baia de Hac Sa
) and the southern Cheoc Van Bay (Chinese:
竹灣
; Cantonese Yale:
J?k w?an
, Portuguese:
Baia de Cheoc Van
) are popular swimming beaches and overlook the
South China Sea
.
History
[
edit
]
From the
Song dynasty
onwards and until the Portuguese annexation of Coloane in 1864,
[1]
Coloane largely served as a
sea salt
farm for
China
. The annexation of Coloane in the 1860s came as
Portugal
sought to expand its influence over
Macau
and affirm its sovereignty, turning the city into a fully-fledged
colony
and expanding its area to include
Taipa
,
Ilha Verde
, Coloane and portions of
Hengqin
(Montanha). Due to Coloane’s sparse habitation, mountainous terrain, and geographical isolation yet close adjacency to the flourishing trade on the
Macau Peninsula
, from the
Ming Dynasty
,
[2]
it had also become a refuge of piracy, which resulted in Coloane’s fishermen having competition from both smugglers and pirates. According to historians, most pirates were likely fishermen seeking to make money. As such, the annexation by
Portugal
also sought to dislodge the pirates who had been using Coloane as a refuge and disrupt Macau’s trade.
Despite the annexation, Coloane remained largely deserted, and its Portuguese sovereignty remained disputed as late as 1912 by the local government in
Guangdong
, which wanted property owners in Coloane not to be forced to pay taxes to the Macau colonial government.
[3]
Despite several anti-piracy efforts, Coloane remained a base of piracy until an incident in July 1910 where a group of 18 Chinese children were kidnapped by a band of pirates, requesting a ransom amount of 35,000
Macanese patacas
. In what became the last battle fought by Portuguese troops in Macau, all 310 pirates active in the Coloane area were captured or fled after a 10-day battle, which saw Coloane bombed as a result and some of its inhabitants incarcerated and charged with helping pirates.
[4]
Many of the pirates that fled were caught either by the
colonial Macau
government, the
British colonial government in Hong Kong
, or the
Qing government in China.
Most faced the death penalty by decapitation.
[5]
For many years, July 13 has served as a local holiday in Coloane, celebrating the victory over the pirates, with a statue in front of the Church of St. Francis Xavier (in Largo Eduardo Marques) commemorating the event.
Locally famous for its rural character, the island started to become more populated after the Estrada do Istmo causeway connecting Coloane with Taipa was completed in 1969, and became to become rapidly developed and populated starting in the 1990s, following the beginning of land reclamation works that created the area of
Cotai
and developed new towns such as
Seac Pai Van
.
Coloane Village
[
edit
]
Coloane Village (
Portuguese
:
Vila de Coloane
;
路環村
;
Louhwaahn Chy?n
), located on the southwestern coast of Coloane, is the main settlement in the area.
The village centers on Eduardo Marques Square, which is a rectangle paved in
cobblestones
that are black, white and yellow, laid out in a wavy pattern reminiscent of the sea. The square faces a seaside
promenade
that traces the channel dividing Macau from the
mainland Chinese
hills on Hengqin (Montanha). At the eastern end of the square stands the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, built in 1928.
A
Tam Kung Temple
is located at the southern end of Avenida de Cinco de Outubro (十月初五馬路).
Lai Chi Vun Village
[
edit
]
Lai Chi Vun Village (
Portuguese
:
Vila de Lai Chi Vun
;
?枝碗村
) is a small settlement located directly north of Coloane Village. The route to the village, the Estrada de Lai Chi Vun, begins at the intersection of Estrada de Seac Pai Van and Estrada do Campo in the north and ends at Largo do Cais in the south. The towering banyan tree at the northern end of the marks the northern entrance to the village, whose name is associated with its abundance in lychee trees in the past and its bowl-shaped bay.
The
shipyards
that once lay beyond the village are nowadays left in disuse. The single-storey business premises of Veng Lok Shipyard and of Association of Shipbuilders of Macau-Taipa-Coloane are located inside the small courtyard to the right of the road atop the hill. All the way down the road to the western side is the one-storey office building of the Customs office of Coloane in Portuguese architectural style.
Coloane Pier, which was once the only entry and exit point of Coloane, is located along the waterfront facing Largo do Cais the southern end of the road.
[6]
The Lai Chi Vun shipyards are currently being evaluated to determine whether they meet the Macau SAR’s legal definition of cultural relics. The site is potentially significant because Macau's shipbuilding industry began at the shipyards and because of the formation of a historical village near the area.
[7]
Tourist attractions
[
edit
]
- Temples
- Sam Seng Temple (三??;
Templo Sam Seng
), also called Kam Fa Temple (金花?;
Templo Kam Fa
)
[8]
located at 2 Rua dos Navegantes in Coloane Village. Dedicated to Kam Fa,
Kun Iam
and Va Kuong,
[9]
it was built in 1865.
[10]
- Kun Iam
Temple in Coloane Village, located at Travessa do Caetano.
[11]
- Old
Tin Hau
Temple (天后古廟;
Antigo Templo de Tin Hau
) in Coloane Village
[12]
- Tam Kung Temple
in Coloane Village. Dedicated to Lord Tam, a
Taoist
god of seafarers, it was built in 1862.
[13]
[14]
- Hung Shing Temple in Hac Sa Village
[15]
- Sam Seng Temple (三聖站廟;
Templo Sam Seng
), in the Ka-Ho (九澳) area, in the northeastern part of the island
[16]
- Kun Iam
Temple (Ka-Ho)
[17]
- Churches
- Chapel of St. Francis Xavier
(聖方濟聖堂;
Capela de Sao Francisco Xavier)
of the Freguesia de Sao Francisco Xavier. The chapel, built in 1928, is located on the southwestern coast of Coloane and stands near a monument commemorating a victory over pirates in 1910. The chapel used to contain some of the most sacred
Christian
relics
in Asia, including the remains of
26 foreign and Japanese
Catholic priests who were crucified in
Nagasaki
in 1597, as well as those of some of the Japanese Christians who were killed during the
Shimabara Rebellion
in 1637. They are now located in the Museum of Sacred Art, opened in 1996 next to the
Ruins of St. Paul's
. Another relic was a bone from the arm of St. Francis Xavier, who died in 1552 on
Shangchuan Island
, 50 miles (80 km) from Macau. This relic has been transferred to
St. Joseph's Church
.
[18]
- Church of
Our Lady of Sorrows
(九澳七苦聖母小堂;
Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Dores
) in the Ka-Ho area
[19]
- Others
Government
[
edit
]
Infrastructure
[
edit
]
Healthcare
[
edit
]
Health centres operated by the Macau government in Coloane include Posto de Saude Coloane (路環衛生站) and Posto de Saude Provisorio de Seac Pai Van de Coloane (路環石排灣臨時衛生站).
[21]
Education
[
edit
]
Public schools:
- Escola Luso-Chinesa de Coloane (路環中葡學校) - Special education
[22]
Subsidized private schools:
Macao Public Library
operates the Coloane Library (
Biblioteca de Coloane
; 路環圖書館), which occupies 170 square metres (1,800 sq ft) space in the former Coloane Public Elementary School (路環公局市立學校;
Escola Basica Publica de Coloane
), a Portuguese-style building. In 1983 the building was renovated so it could serve as a library.
[25]
Transport
[
edit
]
Coloane is served by buses and taxis, and is planned to be served in the future by the
Seac Pai Van
LRT
line.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Macao - Asia"
.
ermakvagus.com
. Retrieved
2023-09-03
.
- ^
"The Not-So Swashbuckling Pirates of Coloane"
.
Macau Lifestyle
. 2020-11-26
. Retrieved
2023-09-03
.
- ^
"Land of pirates. And mystery"
. 19 July 2018.
- ^
"The Not-So Swashbuckling Pirates of Coloane"
.
Macau Lifestyle
. 2020-11-26
. Retrieved
2023-09-03
.
- ^
"The Not-So Swashbuckling Pirates of Coloane"
.
Macau Lifestyle
. 2020-11-26
. Retrieved
2023-09-03
.
- ^
"Macao Streets Homepage - Estrada de Lai Chi Vun"
.
macaostreets.iacm.gov.mo
. Archived from
the original
on February 28, 2017
. Retrieved
2017-02-27
.
- ^
"Consultation on Lai Chi Vun shipyards starts Monday"
. 18 January 2018.
- ^
Kam Fa Temple (Coloane)
, in Macau Temple Civilization website
- ^
Sam Seng Kong Temple
Archived
2015-12-08 at the
Wayback Machine
, in Macau Streets website
- ^
Sam Seng Temple in Coloane
, in Ola! Macau Tourism Guide
- ^
Kun Iam Temple (Coloane)
, in Macau Temple Civilization website
- ^
Ancient Tin Hau Temple in Coloane
, in Ola! Macau Tourism Guide
- ^
Tam Kung Temple in Coloane
Archived
2015-11-19 at the
Wayback Machine
, in Ola! Macau Tourism Guide
- ^
Tam Kong Temple
, on Macau Government Tourist Office website
- ^
Hung Shing Temple in Hac Sa Village
, in Macau Temple Civilization website
- ^
Sam Seng Temple
, in Macau Temple Civilization website
- ^
Kun Iam Temple (Ka Ho)
, in Macau Temple Civilization website
- ^
Chapel of St. Francis Xavier
, on Macau Government Tourist Office website
- ^
Our Lady of Sorrows Church
, on Macau Government Tourist Office website
- ^
"Former Ka Ho Leprosarium | Macau, China | Attractions"
.
Lonely Planet
. Retrieved
2023-09-03
.
- ^
"
Contacte-Nos
Archived
2020-10-23 at the
Wayback Machine
."
Macau Health Bureau
. Retrieved on April 21, 2018.
Chinese version
Archived
2018-04-21 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"
Escola Luso-Chinesa de Coloane
."
Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau)
. Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereco : AVENIDA 5 DE OUTUBRO, COLOANE" -
Chinese profile
: "學校地址: 路環十月初五馬路"
- ^
"
Escola Dom Luis Versiglia
."
Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau)
. Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereco : Caminho da Povoacao de Ka Ho" -
Chinese profile
: "學校地址: 九澳村道"
- ^
"
Escola de Sao Jose de Ka Ho
."
Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Macau)
. Retrieved on April 9, 2017. "Endereco : Aldeia de Ka Ho" -
Chinese profile
: "學校地址: 澳門路環九澳村聖母馬路1151號"
- ^
"
Branch Libraries
." Macao Public Library. Retrieved on April 16, 2017.
Portuguese
,
Traditional Chinese
,
Simplified Chinese
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Coloane
at Wikimedia Commons
Places adjacent to Coloane
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The civil parishes are purely symbolic. There are currently no political administrative subdivisions in Macau, and instead, the
Municipal Affairs Bureau
handles some of the functions formerly handled by the abolished municipalities, the former had replaced the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau that was formed in 2002.
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