TOMEI HOI
On
a rainy Sunday morning, a middle-aged woman was putting some slippers and raincoats
on a piece of cloth outside Taipa Market. "This is my first job since I lost
my job in 1996. I have tried my best to look for a job, but I cannot get one
that suits me," she frowned. Yun thought that the Sunday Market was a good way
to promote Taipa and it also provided jobs for those unemployed like herself.
Yun Wai Fong, a woman with two children studying in primary school, has been unemployed for three years. Yun had been working in a garment factory for eight years. She became unemployed after the factory closed down. Now she is a full-time housewife except on Sundays, when she is a stall-keeper in the Sunday Market in Taipa.
The Sunday Market started on December 5, 1999. There are 97 stalls selling various things such as fried food, towels, popcorn and souvenirs outside the Taipa Market.
"The purpose
of this market is to increase the cohesion of the residents in Taipa," Madeira
de Carvalho, the president of the Islands Provisional Municipal Council said.
Ma Chi Kong, who has been living in Taipa for 30 years, said, "I think the government has done a good job this time. I can go there and have a look at the things with my family on Sunday. I think that the goods there are very useful and the price is lower than other shops." "I like the food there and my favorite one is the barbecued chicken wings," Ma smiled.
Wong Mei Lan is a resident who is living near the area for the Sunday Market. She said she did not like the market at first. "I think Taipa should be quiet and peaceful. Many people will be coming here now that for shopping," said Wong.
After several months, Wong changed her feeling towards the market. "I am accustomed to the noise in the Sunday Market. I think there should be some changes for Taipa, and this change is a good one which gives me a place to go on Sundays," explained Wong.
The
Sunday Market does not only increase the cohesion of the Taipa residents, it
also has another function. "It can also provide jobs for those unemployed,"
explained Madeira de Carvalho. In fact, many of the stall-keepers in the market
are housewives.
Yun, who is one of them, said while showing a raincoat to her customer, "Running this stall allows me to earn more money for my living and it is also a good way of passing my time." Yun said that she could make a profit of about MOP300 from her stall every Sunday.
Lam Peng Peng, who is a clerk in an office, also works in a stall which sells popcorn in the Sunday Market. "Actually, this stall is run by my father. He has a store selling snack food such as popcorn in Macau, but the business these past few years was not so good," said Lam.
"The business is running very well so far because many children who visit here like popcorn," Lam added that the business at the stall in the Sunday Market was even better than at her father's store in Macau.
Madeira de Carvalho said that the Sunday Market also attracted visitors. Karen Ma, 22, a visitor from Hong Kong, has visited Taipa several times. "This market is very good. Before having this market, I could only buy souvenirs or go cycling," she smiled. "I think this market adds color to this small town. I can see that the district is decorated with beautiful flowers and lamp-posts. I feel like I'm walking in a town in Europe," added Karen Ma.
Yun
said that the main difficulty in running a stall in the Sunday Market was that
the market was only held once a week. If Sunday was a rainy day, there would
not be many people going to Taipa. "I may not earn much money on rainy days
like today because the basic transportation fee for carrying the goods from
Macau to Taipa is MOP120," explained Yun.
Yun stated that another difficulty was that not many people knew that the Sunday Market even existed. "We will do more promotion," Madeira de Carvalho explained. "For the new plan, we will not only have posters, we may also have it promoted in some tourists' guidebooks to let more tourists know about this market."
Starting from April 2, a new plan for the Sunday Market has been adopted. The number of stalls has been increased to 125. The stalls will be divided into different districts according to the types of goods they sell. Lights and speakers will be put inside the market to attract people. Since food sold in the old Sunday Market was very popular, the new plan allows for benches to be provided near the market for people to rest and to enjoy any food they bought.
"I changed the schedule for the market. The old one was 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and now the time for the Sunday Market is 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m.," said Madeira de Carvalho. "I think it can provide a place for the Taipa residents to walk around after having dinner." He also said that he really hoped the Sunday Market would help the Taipa residents enjoy living in Taipa.
