Around one month since the second phase of the Chi Lam Vai ancient well cleanup project started, Tang Kam Chun, a Chi Lam Village resident and vice-president of the Na Tcha Temple Association, told the Post yesterday that there is still a significant amount of construction debris in the well.
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.
The two-month long Chi Lam Vai ancient well cleanup project’s second phase commenced on November 4.
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 told the Post on November 18 that dozens of lorryloads of construction waste had been removed already.
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, Tang said.
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 lorryloads of construction waste were removed from it.
A part of “Fist of Fury” (精武門), the legendary 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.
Chi Lam villagers have told the Post that they are planning to convert the cleaned-up well into a “post-worthy spot – known in Putonghua as打卡地 (daka di) – for local and tourists, considering its location connected with Na Tcha and Bruce Lee.
This photo taken on Monday shows the ancient well in Chi Lam Vai that still undergoing its second cleanup.
Cleaners load construction waste dredged from the well onto a lorry in front of Chi Lam Village on Monday. – Photos courtesy of Na Tcha Temple Association Vice-President Tang Kam Chun
