Taipa

Taipa (Chinese: 氹仔; Jyutping: Tam5zai2, Cantonese pronunciation: [tʰɐ̌m.t͡sɐ̌i̯]; Portuguese: Taipa, pronounced [ˈtajpɐ]) is an area in Macau, connected to Coloane through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Located on the northern half of the island, Taipa's population is mostly suburban. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo are mostly coterminous with that of the former Taipa Island, except for a portion of the parish that lies on the island of Hengqin (Montanha), housing the campus of the University of Macau.

Taipa is 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) south of the Macau Peninsula and east of the island of Hengqin, which forms a part of the adjacent Chinese city of Zhuhai. The Macau International Airport, University of Macau, Macau Jockey Club and Macau Stadium are all located in Taipa.

Taipa's geography is dominated by the presence of two hills to the east and west that tower over central Taipa. The 159.1-metre (522.0-foot) Taipa Grande Hill [zh] (大潭山, Colina da Taipa Grande) lies to the east, and Taipa Pequena Hill [zh] (小潭山, Colina da Taipa Pequena) the west. This is because originally Taipa consisted of two islands with a hilly terrain - Greater Taipa and Lesser Taipa. As a result of siltation and land reclamation, by the mid-20th century central Taipa had formed, which is largely made up of flat terrain, turning Taipa into one island.

Initially, Taipa was connected to Coloane only by the Estrada do Istmo [zh] (路氹連貫公路) causeway, opened in 1969, but starting in the 1990s, land reclamation efforts created a new area, Cotai, and which is home to mega-resorts, casinos, and convention and exhibition centres, and has turned Taipa, Cotai and Coloane all into one island. Taipa is connected to the Macau Peninsula by the Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, Friendship Bridge and the Sai Van Bridge.

Taipa is an urbanised, suburban area primarily home to housing, with several housing complexes, which are mostly upscale. As a new town of Macau, Taipa has better city planning than the Macau Peninsula, with wide streets set around a grid system, however Macau has historically centred around the peninsula and some choose to live on the Macau Peninsula because most famous schools are there.

In 2015 the body of the director general of Macao Customs Service, Lai Minhua, was found in the district.

Originally an island pair on the southern end of the Praia Grande, Taipa was first settled by Hokkien-speaking fishermen around 800 years ago. Most Chinese settlement of Taipa occurred during the Southern Song dynasty. In 1847, encouraged by the governorship of João Maria Ferreira do Amaral, who sought to expand Portugal's influence over Macau and affirm its sovereignty, Lesser Taipa was annexed by the Portuguese, constructing Taipa Fortress upon the command of Pedro Jose da Silva Loureiro to combat marine outlaws and protect Macau against the attack of pirates. By 1851, Portugal had also annexed Greater Taipa. These annexations formed part of a wider project by Portugal to turn Macau into a fully-fledged colony and expanding the colony's area to include Taipa, Ilha Verde, Coloane and portions of Hengqin (Montanha). The annexation also aimed to resolve the problem of the divided harbour on the Peninsula and provide land, water supply and protection for the port.

Taipa's main industry historically was fishing, with a prominent harbour where fishermen congregated. In 1923, Taipa saw its first firecracker factory open, which encouraged a boom in the firecracker industry in Taipa, especially as colonial officials limited firecracker factories on the Peninsula because of safety concerns following an accident in 1925 that killed 100 people. Many firecracker factories opened, which encouraged people to flock to the island. By 1969, as the Portuguese colonial government sought to improve Macau's infrastructure, a causeway (Estrada do Istmo) opened connecting Taipa to Coloane, and in 1974 Taipa got its first connection to the Macau Peninsula, the Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, named after the city's governor between 1966 and 1974. Taipa's population, like Coloane, began to expand significantly as better infrastructure was built, increasing from originally 3,000 residents. By the mid-1980s, the firecracker industry in Taipa had declined and the last factory closed in 1984. Starting in the 1990s, Taipa's old village developed as a tourist destination as its Portuguese architecture attracted tourists and further infrastructure was constructed on the island, including the opening of the Macau International Airport in 1995.