Macau is today a major Boom Town and the gambling capital of the world, recently surpassing even Las Vegas. It prints its own currency, which means that after gambling all your money, you'll have to change it if you want to take it to China with you.Traveler's tip It is also famous for the Ruins of St. Paul's, Portuguese salty egg tart, egg roll and its mix of Portuguese culture as well as colonial architecture. In fact, quite a few Macau people have mixed Portuguese ancestry.
The majority of Macau is on an urban island (technically, they're two, but they have been joined by a strip), except for a part in the mainland. It's divided in four regions:
- Macau Peninsula: The mainland's northern part. You have to cross huge bridges to get to the island from here. This is where most of the gambling casinos and touristic places can be found.
- Taipa: The northern island, mostly covered by a residential area where the people of Macau live.
- Cotai: A strip of land constructed to join the island of Taipa and the island of Coloane. Works as a sort of buffer between the islands. Recently, they have started to build giant new casinos here. Its name comes from the islands it joins (Coloane-Taipa).
- Coloane: The southern island is less hospitable, full of mountains, beaches and a natural reserve. Probably because of its mysterious nature, it was used as a pirate's hideout in the old days.
Besides those, there is also the Macau New Urban Zone (a series of 6 disperse landfills, 4 of which have already been completed, and 2 still being done) and the University of Macau Campus Area (which is technically part of the neighbouring Zhuhai, but the Chinese Central Government has rented its land to the Macau government, and Macau law applies there).
During the colonial era, the Peninsula was the City of Macau (or rather, Cidade do (Santo) Nome de Deus de Macau, Não Há Outra Mais Leal — "City of the (Holy) Name of God of Macau, There Is None Other More Loyal", because of Macau being the only city not to pledge allegiance to the Phillips of Spain when they were also Kings of Portugal during the Iberian Union — its local government was the Leal Senado or Loyal Senate) while Taipa and Coloane were both towns (and, with Cotai, part of the Municipality of the Islands).
The islands of Lapa, Dom João and Montanha (in Chinese, Xiao Hengqin, Dao Hengqin and Wanzai, respectively) were disputed between Macau and China, although before World War II it was the Portuguese who provided government services such as schools, leper colonies and missionaries, granted protection and collected taxes. In 1938 the Portuguese military officially occupied the three islands, but were forced out by the Japanese in 1941 and, later, the Chinese got them back. Nowadays, all three are part of Zhuhai, with Wanzai being united to the mainland via a landfill, and Xiao and Dao Hengqin being united to one another in the same manner and are now known as just Hengqin (which is where the University of Macau Campus Area is located).
Creators and Media associated with Macau:
- Ming-Na Wen (Macau-born American)
Tropes associated with Macau:
- Quirky Neighbour SAR: Macau is this to Hong Kong. The former is often regarded by the latter as the place of egg tarts, gambling, with well-off, laid-back people who speaks Cantonese slightly oddly.
- Viva Las Vegas!: The equivalent in the Chinese world.
Macau in fiction:
- Fight The Horror is set in Macau.
- Flaming Brothers has Macau as one of its main settings.
- In the film version of The Man with the Golden Gun, James Bond goes to Macau to interrogate the gun maker who made the golden bullets used by the villain Francisco Scaramanga.
- In Hetalia: Axis Powers, the personification of Macau appears as a minor character, and is characterized as an intelligent, classy gambler.
- Macau appears as a setting in Project Gotham Racing 4.
- The Untold Story is set in Macau.
The Macanese flag
, Macau's first bridge, and below are the waters, symbolizing Macau's role as a port city; above this symbol are four yellow stars flanking a slightly larger one, alluding to mainland China.
The Chinese national anthem
把我們的血肉，築成我們新的長城！
中華民族到了最危險的時候，
每個人被迫着發出最後的吼聲。
起來！起來！起來！
我們萬眾一心，
冒着敵人的炮火，前進！
冒着敵人的炮火，前進！
前進！前進！進！
—
Os nossos corpos e sangue serão nova Muralha!
Um perigo fatal ameaça a China.
A cada um compete o dever de lutar.
De pé! De pé! De pé!
Todos num coração
Contra o fogo inimigo, marchai!
Contra o fogo inimigo, marchai!
Marchai! Marchai! Já!
—
With our flesh and blood, let us build a new Great Wall!
As China faces her greatest peril,
From each one the urgent call to action comes forth.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Millions of but one heart
Braving the enemies' fire! March on!
Braving the enemies' fire! March on!
March on! March on! On!
Government
- Devolved executive-led system within a socialist republic
- Chief Executive: Ho Iat Seng
- Administration and Justice Secretary: Cheong Weng Chon
- Assembly President: Kou Hoi In
- Court President: Sam Hou Fai
Miscellaneous
- Capital: Macau
- Largest parish: Nossa Senhora de Fátima
- Population: 682,800
- Area: 115.3 km² (44.5 sq mi)
- Currency: Macanese pataca (MOP$) (MOP)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: MO
