Taipa
island in Macau
Taipa (Chinese: 氹仔; Jyutping: Tam5zai2, Cantonese pronunciation: [tʰɐ̌m.t͡sɐ̌i̯]; Portuguese: Taipa, pronounced [ˈtajpɐ]) is an area in Macau, formerly a distinct island from Coloane but now connected to it through the reclaimed land of Cotai. Located on the northern half of the combined 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.
Geography
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.
Area: 7.9 square kilometres (3.1 sq mi)
Population: 112,051+ (2021)
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 (大潭山, Colina da Taipa Grande) lies to the east, and Taipa Pequena Hill (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 (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” enters the record as island in Macau. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Taipa, island and Macau can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Taipa” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Taipa, island and Macau provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1073822. Authority coordinates are 22.160, 113.559. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2021 and 1969.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Taipa”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Taipa primary sources, Taipa archive and Taipa research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Taipa”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Taipa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.