Coloane (Cantonese: Lou Wan) is a former island in Macau that is united with the island of Taipa by an area of reclaimed land known as Cotai. It is located at the southern part of Macau. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish (Portuguese: freguesia) of São Francisco Xavier are coterminous with that of Coloane.
Etymology
Coloane was known in Cantonese as Gau Ou Saan (九澳山 lit. "Nine-inlet Mountain" or transcribed in Portuguese as Ká-Hó) and Yim Jou Waan (鹽灶灣, lit. "Salt-stove Bay"). The Portuguese name "Coloane" is derived from the Cantonese pronunciation of Gwo Lou Waan (過路環, lit. "Passing-road Ring").
Geography
Coloane has an area of 8.07 km2 (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 Tòhngsāan, Portuguese: Alto de Coloane).
In the past,[when?] Coloane was separated from Taipa by the Seac Pai Bay, which was crossed by a 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) causeway, the Estrada do Istmo, connecting Coloane to Taipa. However land reclamation has[when?] physically connected the two islands and a new area for development called Cotai has been built between Taipa and Coloane, which is 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: Hāksā Hóitāan, Portuguese: Baía de Hác Sá) and the southern Cheoc Van Bay (Chinese: 竹灣; Cantonese Yale: Jūk wāan, Portuguese: Baía de Cheoc Van) are popular swimming beaches.
History
From the Song dynasty onwards and until the Portuguese arrival in 1864,[citation needed] Coloane was a sea salt farm for China. After their arrival, the Portuguese made Macau an important trading port, but Coloane remained largely deserted, and was used as a base by pirates until 1910. The island became more populated after the Estrada do Istmo causeway connecting Coloane with Taipa was completed in 1969.
Coloane Village
Old Tin Hau Temple
Chapel of St. Francis Xavier
Coloane Village (Portuguese: Vila de Coloane; 路環村; Lùhuáncūn; Louhwàahn Chyūn), located on the southwestern coast of Coloane, is the island's main settlement.
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 hills of China proper. 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).
Temples (from north to south)
Sam Seng Temple (三圣宫), also called Kam Fa Temple (金花庙),[1] located at 2 Rua dos Navegantes in Coloane Village. Dedicated to Kam Fa, Kun Iam and Va Kuong,[2] it was built in 1865.[3]
Kun Iam Temple (Coloane), located at Travessa do Caetano.[4]
Tam Kung Temple in Coloane Village. Dedicated to Lord Tam, a Taoist god of seafarers, it was built in 1862.[6][7]
Churches
Chapel of St. Francis Xavier (聖方濟聖堂), of the Freguesia de São Francisco Xavier (聖方濟堂區). The chapel, built in 1928, is located on the southwestern coast of the island and stands near a monument commemorating a victory over pirates in 1910. The chapel used to contain some of the most sacred Christianrelics 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.[8]
Lai Chi Vun Village
A ship being built in a local shipyard.
Estrada de Lai Chi Vun begins at the intersection 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 Lai Chi Vun Village (荔枝碗村), 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 Macao-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.[9]
The Lai Chi Vun shipyards are being evaluated to determine whether they meet the MSAR'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.[10]
Health centres operated by the Macau government in Coloane include Posto de Saúde Coloane (路環衛生站) and Posto de Saúde Provisório de Seac Pai Van de Coloane (路環石排灣臨時衛生站).[15]
Education
Coloane Library
Public schools:
Escola Luso-Chinesa de Coloane (路環中葡學校) - Special education[16]
Subsidized private schools:
Escola Dom Luís Versíglia [zh] (雷鳴道主教紀念學校) - Primary and secondary school[17]
Escola de São José de Ká Hó (九澳聖若瑟學校) - Preschool through junior high school[18]
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), a Portuguese-style building. In 1983 the building was renovated so it could serve as a library.[19]
Note: 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.
1 1975 is the year of East Timor's Declaration of Independence and subsequent invasion by Indonesia. In 2002, East Timor's independence was fully recognized.
China
Macau
Freguesia de São Francisco Xavier
