A Different Macau·Lianfeng Temple|Lin Zexu Memorial Hall
|Lin Zexu Memorial Hall. Before the Spring Festival, I went on a hiking trip around the main island of Macau and decided to explore the route through the Qingmao Port.
Qingmao Port is located at Zhuhai Station of the urban rail transit, which is very convenient. This customs is the same as Hengqin. The two places have been merged into one. You only need one verification to pass through the customs. Compared with Gongbei, there are fewer people and basically no one will stop. There is a transportation center after passing the customs.
This time I encountered an embarrassing thing: my phone was disconnected from the Internet, and I could only rely on offline maps to slowly search for the targets that I had marked in advance. As I walked, I suddenly saw the familiar Lianfeng Temple. I used to pass this place when I walked from Gongbei to the Ruins of St. Paul's.
Lianfeng Temple was first built in the Ming Dynasty. Its ancient name was Tianfei Temple. It is dedicated to the Queen of Heaven. It is one of the three major ancient temples in Macau and is as famous as the A-Ma Temple. Lianfeng Temple is named after Lianfeng Mountain and has a history of more than 400 years. Today, it enshrines many gods such as the Queen of Heaven, Medicine King, Guandi, Guanyin, and Jinhua.
Every time I see Chinese culture preserved so well in Macau, I am reminded of the “Song of the Seven Sons” written by Mr. Wen Yiduo a hundred years ago: But they took away my body, and you still keep the soul in my heart. The Chinese civilization that is ingrained in our bones can never be taken away by robbers.
There is a Lin Zexu Memorial Hall next to the Lianfeng Temple, which makes people curious. Why was the museum built here?
After seeing the exhibition, I realized that when the opium was destroyed in Humen, he inspected Macau as an imperial envoy and stayed in Lianfeng Temple.
On March 10, 1839, Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou. From April 11 to May 18, Lin Zexu personally supervised the confiscation of opium. Starting from June 3, under his command, the 23-day destruction of opium at Humen was carried out, shocking China and the world.
On September 3, Lin Zexu arrived in Macau. During the inspection, Chinese residents, carrying their elderly and children, lined the streets and cheered, while Portuguese residents also shoulder to shoulder, fearing that they would be left behind. When Lin Zexu passed by, the Sanba, Maque, Nam Van and other forts fired 19 salutes to show their respect for the imperial commissioner.