Na Tcha Temple

Background

The Na Tcha Temple was built in 1888 to honor the guardian deity Na Tcha, also called Sam Tai Tsz. Local belief holds that the temple was constructed specifically to stop a plague that was ravaging the region at the time. The small traditional Chinese temple is a simple single-chambered building measuring 8.4 m long and 4.51 m wide. The entrance porch opens to the temple building measuring 5 m in depth.

The building is painted gray, with few ornamentations, except for paintings on walls under the entrance porch. The temple's roof, rising five meters, is a traditional gable roof. True to traditional Chinese architecture, the Na Tcha has protective ceramic animal figurines on its ridge. The temple is behind the Ruins of St. Paul's, remains of a principal Jesuit cathedral in the region, serving as one of the best examples of Macau's multicultural identity.

It stands where the ends of two alleys meet: the Rua da Ressurreição (大三巴右街, by St. Paul's) and the (大三巴斜巷, 聖方濟各斜巷). The entry next to temple leads to the Pátio do Espinho, a tiny area within the old city wall.