CPPCC Macau member blames Zhuhai’s light pollution

The Zhuhai Center Tower seen from Sai Van Lake

Eddie Yue Kai Wong, member of Macau’s National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, claims that the LED lighting on towers recently built in Zhuhai and Hengqin have damaged the serenity of the Sai Van area, according to a report by Macao Daily News.

Wong, a prominent local architect, said that it has been historically easy to distinguish Macau from Zhuhai because Macau’s surroundings consisted of mountains and hills. However, as Zhuhai and Hengqin continued to develop, the two cities now resemble one single body of tall buildings, as the buildings are separated from Macau by a narrow river.

In Wong’s opinion, it is not a problem for both cities to be developed, although issues concerning light pollution have started to arise.

Wong believes that the LED lights decorating the new buildings are specifically targeted to attract visitors to Macau. “Not even Zhuhai can see Hengqin’s lights,” complained Wong, who also criticized the buildings for being “dressed pretty” even before their completion. Wong believes this signifies a rushed strategy of market promotion during the Chinese New Year holiday.

“Many [buildings] have not been finished yet, [and they] only have scaffoldings,” said Wong. He added that those buildings “wearing LEDs to show-off [to people] might be due to [Hengqin] wanting to attract Macau’s tourists to consider buying a house in Hengqin.”

The CPPCC member stated that many residents in Taipa, facing Hengqin, are affected by Hengqin’s light pollution, and expressed his concerns for these residents. He also expressed concern that any public houses built by the government on Av. dos Jogos da Ásia Oriental would face the lights as well.

“The entire building seems like a canvas broadcasting animation. If it faces you for a whole night, I [think] it is quite annoying. We [Macau and Zhuhai] have some cultural differences. [Zhuhai] might think it is beautiful, and [Zhuhai worries that it] invested so much money into it and yet you don’t admire it,” said Wong. He continued, “it faces us, and it does not face Zhuhai city. If it would face Zhuhai city, and the [people living in Zhuhai] thought it was beautiful, then it would not matter to us.”

Numerous buildings are under construction close to Sai Van on the Zhuhai side of the border. Some of them emit light even before their conclusion

In Wong’s opinion, the most beautiful area in Macau is near Sai Van and around Our Lady of Penha Chapel. Wong thinks that the presence of light pollution changed Sai Van’s serenity.

Wong expects that buildings situated in Zhuhai will continue to have a negative impact on Macau’s landscape.

“It is really difficult for you to not see what other people built, and now they are building tall along the coast line,” said Wong. Wong hopes that the lighting issues can be solved through the Macau and Guangdong cooperation mechanism. The cooperation mechanism, or “working group” between Macau and Zhuhai, is used for the coordination of environmental policies in the cities’ respective administrations.

Last year, the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) told the Times in a written statement that Zhuhai’s municipal authorities were investigating the intensity of light emitted from the Zhuhai Center Tower and that the building operators have agreed to “adjust the brightness of the light.”

The DSPA contacted Zhuhai authorities in response to complaints from Macau residents that the light emitted from some buildings in Zhuhai constituted a form of light pollution, particularly in the Sai Van Lake area and parts of Taipa. The Zhuhai Center Tower lights were dimmed for a while, but more recently, they have regained their former intensity.

When the issue arose last year, the DSPA director told the public that he was aware of the situation and that his agency had communicated the concerns expressed by Macau residents to Zhuhai municipal authorities. JZ

One of the most luminous cities in the world

THE PRELIMINARY conclusions of a study recently undertaken indicate that Macau is the most luminous city in the world. Vivian Tam, currently studying Masters of Environmental Science and Management at the University of Saint Joseph, said that the level of brightness in the sky of Macau peninsula is relatively higher than the average level, as determined by the International Dark Sky Association. “Macau is one of the most light-polluted cities in the world because of its dense residential area and its entertainment [facilities], especially in Cotai,” Tam told the Times earlier.