Conservation of island city heritage site: a study of the spatial practices of A-Ma Temple heritage site in Macau

Island city heritage is a type of heritage in island cities with historical, cultural, and artistic value, including their buildings, neighborhoods, landscapes, and cultural traditions, and is a branch of architectural heritage research. It emphasizes the analysis of the construction process of urban heritage sites through the dual impacts of time and space, and it is conducive to breaking through the current static research status and restoring the intrinsic relationship between historical space, local landscape conditions, and the social economy. However, currently, some island urban heritage sites face considerable challenges due to land constraints caused by urban land expansion. This study takes the heritage site of A-Ma Temple, Macau, as the research object and reveals that the construction and evolution of the site reflect the protection process and practical logic of urban space construction. At the same time, with the help of cultural and historical materials such as documents, maps, inscriptions, and stone carvings, two research methods, namely, physical space samples from on-site surveys and personnel interviews, were combined. Finally, from a diachronic perspective, this study focused on the influence of private and official forces on the construction and development, evolution and reshaping, art, and expression of A-Ma Temple’s spaces. This research shows the following: (1) the heritage site of A-Ma Temple, Macau, was influenced by natural geography and humanity to form phases, situations, pavilions, and the environment, which is the main logic of its spatial practice; (2) based on the development of the external historical environment and the influence of its own divine personality, the heritage site of A-Ma Temple has obvious stage differences; (3) the interaction between the heritage site and the environment helps to actively integrate, adapt, and even support the development of island urban spaces. Systematically studying the historical construction of heritage sites and the internal and external factors that produced them in the rapid expansion of urban space around these three levels is of significance for promoting research on the protection and reuse of these sites in island cities.