Special Administrative Region:      

Macao

Official Name:

Àoméntèqū

Status:

Special Administrative Region

Chinese Characters:

Population Figure:    

approx. 450.000

Area:

approx. 27,3 square kilometer

Time difference:

6 hours during summer

7 hours during winter, as there is no clock change to summer time

Location:       

South-China

Adjacent provinces: Guangdong

Capital City:

Macao

Sights:

Ruins of the Paulus-Church which was destroyed by a typhoon in 1835. Nowadays the ruins are Macao’s landmark. 

General Information:           

Languages spoken: Portuguese, Cantonese, Chinese.

Macao is set up of the two islands Taipa and Coloane which are connected to each other by a bridge.

Portuguese traders as well as ships of the Portuguese Crown reached Macao at the beginning of the 16^th century, but were again dispelled by the Chinese government.

Macao served as an outpost for trade with Guangzhou and Japan and later on also with South-East Asia. The Portuguese started the establishment of a settling with Chinese permission in 1557 and constructed a wall around it after several aggressions by the Dutch.

A Portuguese governor first ruled Macao in 1680. In 1849 Portugal declared Macao as an independent state which lead to further conflicts with the already weak Chinese empire. China had to acclaim Macao as an idependent colony after the second Opiumwar and as a permanent suzerainty of Portugal in 1887. The restoration of Macao to China was stipulated in 1987.

Links:

www.macau.gov.mo/index_en.html:
Macao’s official website
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
Hongkong –section in the Lonely Planet