Macau From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Macau (disambiguation).

Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China[1] ?????????????? Regio Administrativa Especial de Macau da Repblica Popular da China Flag Emblem Anthem: ?????? "March of the Volunteers" MENU0:00 Clockwise from top right:Ruins of St. Paul's; Casino Lisboa; St. Joseph Seminar y Church; Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge; A-Ma Temple; Guia Fortress; Macau T ower. Clockwise from top right: Ruins of St. Paul's; Casino Lisboa; St. Joseph Seminary Church; Governor Nobre d e Carvalho Bridge; A-Ma Temple; Guia Fortress; Macau Tower. Official languages Chinese[2] Portuguese Spoken languages Cantonese Macanese Portuguese Macanese (Patu) Writing systems Traditional Chinese Portuguese alphabet Ethnic groups 92.4% Chinese 2.7% Filipino 1.5% English 1.4% Portuguese 2.0% Other Demonym Macanese Government Special administrative region Chief Executive Fernando Chui Administration and Justice Secretary Florinda Chan Court President Sam Hou Fai Assembly President Ho Iat Seng Legislature Legislative Assembly Establishment Portuguese administration 1557 Portuguese colony 1 December 1887 Transfer of sovereignty 20 December 1999 Area Total 29.5 km2 (235th) 11.39 sq mi Water (%) 0 Population 2013[a] estimate 607,500[3][4] (167th) 2011 census 552,503[5] (167th) Density 18,568/km2 (1st) 48,092/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate Total US$47.19 billion (98th) Per capita US$82,400 (4th) GDP (nominal) 2012 [6] estimate Total US$44.300 billion (98th)

Per capita US$77,353 (4th) HDI (2011) Steady 0.868[7] very high 25th Currency Macanese pataca (MOP) Time zone MST (UTC+8) Summer (DST) not observed (UTC) Drives on the left Calling code +853 ISO 3166 code MO Internet TLD .mo Jump up ^ Fourth quarter Macau Macau in Chinese T.png Chinese name Simplified Chinese ?? Traditional Chinese ?? Cantonese Jyutping ou3mun4*2 Cantonese Yale Oumhn Hanyu Pinyin omn Literal meaning Bay gate [show]Transcriptions Macao Special Administrative Region Simplified Chinese ??????? (or ????) Traditional Chinese ??????? (or ????) Cantonese Jyutping Ou3mun4*2 Dak6bit6 Hang4zing3 Keoi1 Hanyu Pinyin omn Tbi Xngzhngqu (omn Tqu) [show]Transcriptions Portuguese name Portuguese Regio Administrativa Especial de Macau for "Macau Special Adminis trative Region" This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, yo u may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. Macau (/m?'ka?/; traditional Chinese: ??; simplified Chinese: ??; pinyin: omn), al so spelled Macao, is one of the two Special Administrative Regions of the People 's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong Kong to the east, bordered by Guangdon g Province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.[8] The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, but also includes manufacturing. The Cantonese people from Hong Kong and Guangdong, espec ially recent mainland tourism from Mandarin-speaking regions, have boosted the e conomy of Macau significantly. A former Portuguese colony, Macau was administered by Portugal from the mid-16th century until late 1999, when it was the last remaining European colony in Asia .[9][10] Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 1550s. In 1557, Macau was rented to Portugal by the Chinese empire as a trading port. The Portuguese a dministered the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty until 1887, when Ma cau became a colony of the Portuguese empire. Sovereignty over Macau was transfe rred back to China on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration an d the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operate with a high degree of auto nomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer.[11] By 2002, it had be come one of the world's richest cities.[12] It became the world's biggest gambli ng centre in 2006.[13] Under the policy of "one country, two systems", the PRC's Central People's Gover nment is responsible for the territory's defense and foreign affairs, while Maca u maintains its own legal system, police force, monetary system, customs policy, and immigration policy. Macau participates in many international organizations and events that do not require members to possess national sovereignty.[11][14] According to The World Factbook, Macau has the second highest life expectancy in the world.[15] In addition, Macau is one of the very few regions in Asia with a "very high Human Development Index", ranking 23rd or 24th in the world in 2007

(with Japan being the highest in Asia; the other Asian countries/regions within the "very high HDI" category are South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Brunei). Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Government and politics 3.1 Executive 3.2 Legislature 3.3 Judiciary 3.4 Military 4 Geography 4.1 Climate 5 Economy 6 Monetary system 7 Demographics 8 Education 9 Health care 10 Transport 11 Culture 11.1 Cuisine 12 Notable people 13 Sports 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 Further reading 18 External links Etymology[edit] Main article: Names of Macau Before the Portuguese settlement in the mid-16th century, Macau was known as Hao jing (??, literally "Oyster Mirror") or Jinghai (??, literally "Mirror Sea").[16 ] The name Macau is thought to be derived from the A-Ma Temple (Chinese: ???; Ma ndarin Pinyin: Mag Mio; Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3 Miu6), a temple built in 1448 dedicate the goddess of seafarers and fishermen. It is said that when the Port d to Matsu uguese sailors landed at the coast just outside the temple and asked the name of the place, the natives replied "??" (Mandarin Pinyin: Mag; Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3). The Portuguese then named the peninsula "Macau".[17] The present Chinese name ( Chinese: ??; Mandarin Pinyin: omn; Jyutping: Ou3 Mun4) means "Inlet Gates". History[edit] Portuguese coin (minted 1996) commemorating the arrival of the Portuguese in Chi na in 1513 Main articles: History of Macau, Transfer of the sovereignty of Macau, and Portu guese Macau Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral, by George Chinnery (1774 1852). The cathedral was b uilt in 1602 and destroyed by fire in 1835. Only the southern stone faade remains today. Macau, c. 1870. The history of Macau is traced back to the Qin dynasty (221 206 BC), when the regi on now called Macau came under the jurisdiction of Panyu county, in Nanhai prefe cture (present day Guangdong).[16] The first recorded inhabitants of the area we re people seeking refuge in Macau from invading Mongols during the Southern Song dynasty.[18] Under the Ming dynasty (1368 1644 AD), fishermen migrated to Macau f rom Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

Flag of the Government of Portuguese Macau (1976 1999). Macau did not develop as a major settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century.[19] In 1513, Jorge lvares became the first Portuguese to land in Ch ina. In 1535, Portuguese traders obtained the rights to anchor ships in Macau's harbours and to carry out trading activities, though not the right to stay onsho re.[20] Around 1552 1553, they obtained temporary permission to erect storage shed s onshore, in order to dry out goods drenched by sea water;[21] they soon built rudimentary stone houses around the area now called Nam Van. In 1557, the Portug uese established a permanent settlement in Macau, paying an annual rent of 500 t aels (18.9 kilograms / 41.6 pounds) of silver.[21] The Portuguese continued to p ay an annual tribute up to 1863 in order to stay in Macau.[22] By 1564, Portugal commanded western trade with India, Japan, and China. But thei r pride was shocked by the indifference with which the Chinese treated them. The senate of Macau once complained to the viceroy of Goa of the contempt with whic h the Chinese authorities treated them, confessing however that "it was owing mo re to the Portuguese themselves than to the Chinese". In 1631 the Chinese restri cted Portuguese commerce in China to the port of Macau.[23] During the 17th century, some 5,000 slaves lived in Macau, in addition to 2,000 Portuguese and 20,000 Chinese.[24][25][26] As more Portuguese settled in Macau to engage in trade, they made demands for se lf-administration; but this was not achieved until the 1840s.[27] In 1576, Pope Gregory XIII established the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau.[28] In 1583, the P ortuguese in Macau were permitted to form a Senate to handle various issues conc erning their social and economic affairs under strict supervision of the Chinese authority,[29] but there was no transfer of sovereignty.[18]