Macau/Taipa

Taipa (氹仔 - Tam Chai in Cantonese, Dàngzǎi in Mandarin) was one of the islands in China's Special Administrative Region of Macau.

As an island, Taipa was situated between the Peninsula and Coloane island but is now joined with Coloane by the Cotai Strip which was reclaimed from the sea. It is still separated from the Macau Peninsula by a branch of the Pearl River, although three bridges provide road links.

Taipa used to be rural but massive development towards the end of the 20th century has seen the island transformed into an alternative city to the Peninsula. It boasts many hotels and shopping malls.

The Macau International Airport is built on reclaimed land off the north-eastern end of Taipa.

1 Travel to Taipa
2 What to see in Taipa
- 2.1 Museums
3 Top Muslim Travel Tips for Taipa
- 3.1 Hiking/Cycling
4 Islam in Macau
- 4.1 Muslim Tourism in Macau
5 Mosques in Macau
6 Halal Restaurants in Taipa
7 Muslim Friendly hotels in Taipa
8 News & References Macau
9 Explore more Halal friendly Destinations from Macau

Travel to Taipa

Travel on a Bus in Taipa

Buses connect Macau Peninsula with Taipa, mostly via the Macau-Taipa or Old Bridge.

Some useful buses include:

Between the Peninsula and Taipa:

11 - A-Ma Temple to Macau Jockey Club via Av de Almeida Ribeiro and Hotel Lisboa
22 - Iao Hon to Macau Jockey Club via Rua do Campo, Hotel Lisboa
28A - Ferry Terminal to Macau Jockey Club via ZAPE, Hotel Lisboa, New Century, Taipa Village, Macau Stadium, Four-faced Buddha
30 - Portas do Cerco to Macau Jockey Club and Hotel New Century via Iao Hon, Taipa City
33 - Fai Chi Kei to Macau Jockey Club via Canindrome, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa Village, Macau Stadium, Four-faced Buddha
AP1 - Portas do Cerco (Border Gate) to Macau International Airport via Ferry Terminal.

Between the Peninsula and Coloane via Taipa:

21 - Ponte a Horta to Coloane Village via A-Ma Temple, Macau Tower, Taipa City, Macau International Airport
21A - A-Ma Temple to Coloane via Av de Almeida Ribeiro, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa City
25 - Portas do Cerco to Coloane (Hac Sa) via Rua do Campo, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa City
26 - Fai Chi Kei to Coloane via Ponte a Horta, A-Ma Temple, Sai Van Bridge, Macau Jockey Club, Macau International Airport
26A - Fai Chi Kei to Coloane via Red Market, Av de Almeida Ribeiro, Hotel Lisboa, Taipa City, Macau Stadium, Olympic Aquatic Centre

By car

Taipa is connected with the Macau Peninsula by three bridges - the Ponte Governador Nobre de Carvalho or Macau-Taipa Bridge (commonly called the Old bridge as it was the first of the three bridges), Ponte de Amizade (or Friendship Bridge) and the Ponte de Sai Van (Sai Van Bridge). The Macau-Taipa Bridge is the most direct link between Macau downtown on the peninsula and the newly developed Taipa City, while the Friendship Bridge runs from near the Macau Ferry Terminal and the Macau International Airport. The Sai Van Bridge links the Barra area on the peninsula with the western tip of Taipa.

Between Taipa and Macau/Coloane|Coloane and the only link used to be the Taipa-Coloane Isthmus Causeway. As the narrow straits between Taipa and Coloane has been reclaimed and developed into the Macau/Cotai|Cotai area and the Isthmus Causeway (as it is still called) not only functions as the main highway between Taipa and Coloane but has also become the main drag for the Cotai Strip. There are now several other roads parallel to the Isthmus Causeway linking Taipa with Coloane.

Book a Halal Cruise or Boat Tour in Taipa

There are no domestic ferry services from Taipa to either Macau Peninsula or Macau/Coloane|Coloane. A direct ferry service runs to/from Hong Kong from the new Taipa Ferry Terminal on the northeastern tip of Taipa adjacent to the airport. See Macau#Get In|Macau's Get In section for details.

What to see in Taipa

Pou Tai Un - Pou Tai Monastery - A Buddhist temple with a Vegetarian Buddhist restaurant.

Four-Faced Buddha - 四面佛 - A shrine from Thailand.

Museums

Museum of Taipa and Coloane History - Contains detailed and informative displays of the two islands.

Taipa Houses Museum - Made up of a row of colonial houses from the early 20th century. They have been restored and preserved inside showing the style of living of the original owners.

Top Muslim Travel Tips for Taipa

Hiking/Cycling

The two Taipa Hills are suitable for hiking and cycling. The larger hill, on the east side of the island right next to the airport, has several unpaved hiking trails that can also be used for mountain-biking. The smaller hill, on the west side of the island, has a low-traffic paved road circling it which is suitable for cycling and running. For those without their own bicycles and there are (very mediocre, at best) bicycles for rent in Rua Governador Tamagnini Barbosa in Taipa village, just behind the bus stop.

Islam in Macau

Islam in Macau is a minority religion in the region. Currently there are around more than 400 Muslims in Macau in which they call themselves as The Macau Islamic Society.[1 According to the Islamic Union of Hong Kong, together with all of the foreign Muslim workers combined (such as from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan), Muslims in Macau accounted for more than 10,000 people.

Muslim Tourism in Macau

To attract more Muslim tourists from Southeast Asia and the Macau Government Tourism Office has been engaging in several efforts to give a new perception that Macau is not only a gaming region. Over the past two years the government has been engaging in seminars on Muslim trainings during travel, encouraging more restaurants to get halal certification from Hong Kong and requesting hotels to reconstructing their lobby so that visitors do not have to go through casinos when going to restaurants or their rooms

Mosques in Macau

Macau currently has one mosque, which is the Macau Mosque, located at 4 Ramal Dos Moros in Our Lady of Fatima Parish. The mosque was built in the 1980s by the Muslim people from the second wave of generation during the Portuguese-ruled of Macau. This mosque is specially crowded during Sunday where most of the employees are having their work break days

It is believed that Macau Mosque was built by Muslims who arrived with the Portuguese army. Originally and these Muslims were recruited from South Asia by the army. Within the complex area and there are also Muslim cemetery with some of the tombs dated back for hundreds of years, indicating that Islam had arrived in Macau since hundreds of years ago.

In 1996 and the IAM submitted a redevelopment plan of the mosque to Portuguese Macau government but was not approved. To accommodate the increasing number of Muslims in Macau, in 2006 the IAM applied for government permission to build a new larger mosque in area adjacent to the current mosque building. In the late months of 2007, Macau Mosque underwent renovation.

In the future and the new mosque is planned to be double in size to be a more modern mosque for Macau with a total area of 1,881 m2, 50 meters high and can accommodate up to 600 worshipers. An Islamic center, cheap Halal restaurant, 30-room hostel and classroom and 127-meter high 38-story residential building will also be constructed.

Halal Restaurants in Taipa

Macau has some Halal restaurants with unique Halal cuisine from Indonesia, India and Pakistan.

Loulan Islam Restaurant - Address: R. do Teatro, Macao ☎ +853 2853 0264 - Loulan Islam Restaurant is located in the downtown and specializes in food from Xinjiang, a northern region in China with a large muslim community. One of the very few halal restaurants in Macau. Located not too far from the Ruins of St. Paul, although small but easy to find. The ambience is very familiar like at home. The taste of the cuisine is suitable for the Indonesian tongue. Pretty much portion. The waitress is friendly. There is an air conditioner and toilet. Prices are a bit high because halal restaurants are very rare in Macau.

Anak Djakarta Indonesian Halal Restaurant - Address: 1 R. da Restauracao, Macao - ☎ +853 6527 0474 - It is very clean, and the level is not expensive. It is considered a very cost-effective place in Macau. The boss and the proprietress are very enthusiastic, and the food is served fairly quickly.

Lou Lang Islamic Restaurant - 5GWP+8QQ, Inner Harbour, Macao - Great location, and the food is good,, and we can ask the waitress if we want to pray for Muslim and they like to help.

Indian Spice - Vista Magnifica Court, 39 Alameda Dr. Carlos da Assumpção Macao - ☎ +853 2872 2784 - Indian Spice provides a taste-bud tickling range of North Indian recipes. Wednesday also cater to Jain and Gujarati food tastes, with a mouth-watering range of Vegetarian, non-vegetarian and tandoori dishes. Indian Spice can cater to meal requests from tourists, from different parts of India. Indian Spice, is strategically located near the ‘Kun Iam Statue’ in Macau, within walking distance from Wynn Macau, MGM Grand and Sands Macau.

Loly Indonesian Restaurant - 號A地下, 000000, 4O R. da Erva, Macao ☎ +853 2855 7318 - Many Vegetarian options here (not so easy to find them in Macao)!!! The service was fast and the food really good. Wednesday tried many things ad everything was fantastic. The menu offers many many dishes as many different kind of drinks. Pay attention if you are not used to spicy food. Very delicious and authentic Indonesian dishes! So far the best you could find in Macau

Muslim Friendly hotels in Taipa

Hotels in Taipa are all in the Luxury category:

News & References Macau

Explore more Halal friendly Destinations from Macau

Hong Kong is 40 minutes by HZMBus or 60 minutes by ferry.
Zhuhai is just across the Chinese border, though citizens of most nationalities must have a visa to enter China.
All cities of the Pearl River Delta are a few hours by train or bus away.