The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) sees no harm in the plan to construct a 26.8-meter-tall building beside the ancient Na Tcha Temple at Calçada das Verdades in central Macau.
The ancient temple is classified in the Cultural Heritage of Macau under the Immovable Properties code, MM025.
According to the classification, the temple was initially built in a smaller and simpler form in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and was later expanded in the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1898).
This is one of two remaining temples dedicated to the protection deity, Prince Na Tcha, and advocated the myth of ‘Na Tcha Trayastrimśat’. The faith in Na Tcha dates back over 300 years ago. People would pray to Na Tcha to guard children away from sickness and for help whenever there were plagues or the need to repel evil spirits from the city. Over time this deity became part of popular faith and patron of children in Macau.
The Urban Planning Committee yesterday approved the Urban Conditions Plan to allow construction of a residential building right at the back of the temple with IC’s opinion noting only that “measures should be taken to ensure the safety and integrity of the classified immovable property in the surroundings.”
The project did not prompt any comments from the committee members who approved it unanimously.
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