According to ITYPEMBA, Macau (Macau) is the main city of the Macau Special Autonomous Region , a former colony of Portugal. 450 years of Portuguese rule have affected not only the appearance of the city, but also the local way of life. Here, Chinese and European traditions and culture are mixed and mutually complement each other.
Macau is the center of the gambling industry. The district’s capital, the city of Macau, is known for its casinos, nightclubs, race track, gambling houses, which attract large numbers of tourists and Chinese from Hong Kong, where casinos are banned. Because of the abundance of casinos and gambling houses, it is also called the “Monte Carlo” of the East. Orientation of Macau on tourism and services led to the creation of a first-class network of hotels and restaurants with a high level of service.
Macau was the Asian seat of the Roman Catholic Church and was the “Vatican of Asia”. The bishop here presided over the Catholic missions from Goa to Nagasaki in Japan. Hence – such an abundance of churches, which in Macau are 1 km 2more than in the Vatican. A kind of tourist emblem of Macau is the facade of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The cathedral itself burned down during a fire in the 19th century, but the preserved majestic facade and monumental staircase still amaze with their splendor. Hanging over the cathedral fortress Fortaleza do Monte (XVII century). This very serious fortification was turned into the Macau Museum in 1998. Catholic churches coexist with traditional Chinese temples, the most famous of which are the temple of the goddess A-Ma, built over 600 years ago, the Taoist temple of Linfong, and the Buddhist monastery of Kunyam.
Of great interest among the guests of the city is the theater of don Pedro V, which is the venue for musical celebrations, and the nearby gardens of the Portuguese poet Camões, who lived in Macau for some time.
The highest point in the city is TV tower 373 m high. It offers a view of the whole of Macau and even part of China. It will be interesting to walk along the embankment of Nam Van Lake, with a view of the curved silhouettes of bridges and the TV tower. Every evening, a performance of fountains is arranged on the lake. They were built in 1999. There are 86 jets in total, which are illuminated by 288 light sources.
The largest piece of wildlife on the peninsula is Mount Colina da Guia, one of the peaks of which can be reached in a cable car.
Taipa (Macao (Maomen), China)
Taipa belongs to the Macau Special Region. This settlement is located on an island connected to Macau by a bridge. At one end of this bridge, located in Taipa, there is a monument covered with the historical symbols of Macau. Taipa is a village where you can see small Chinese temples, Catholic churches, various restaurants and narrow streets leading to Chinese coastal shop houses, on the lower floors of which there is trade, and on the upper floors their owners live. Also, if you linger on the island, it is worth visiting the Furniture Museum.
Taipa is home to Macau International Airport.
History in Macau (Maomen), China
The Macau region was originally a Chinese territory that was part of Xiangshan County, Guangdong Province. Previously, this territory was called Haojing (in translation – “a place surrounded by a moat”), here was the palace of the Empress of China. The locals also called it Maga (“Mother’s Chamber”), which later turned into Macau. According to another version, “Macao” is derived from the phrase A-ma-gao, which means “the bay of the goddess A-ma.” The Chinese name “Aomen” (“Gulf Gate”) is reminiscent of two towering hills – Nantai and Beitai.
In the 16th century, during the Age of Discovery, Europeans reached the southeast coast of China. The first Portuguese ship anchored at the mouth of the Pearl River in 1513, and in 1553 Portuguese merchants firmly established themselves in this territory, renting it from the Chinese authorities four years later. Macau became the main trading port for European ships bound for China and Japan.
In 1586, Macau received the rights of city self-government. The Dutch attacks forced the Portuguese authorities to build a fortress without asking permission from China. Only in 1670 did the Chinese authorities recognize the city.
By the middle of the XIX century. the Portuguese colony had a powerful competitor – British Hong Kong (Xianggang), which surpassed Macau in terms of trade, and the former prosperous port gradually began to fade. In 1851, the Portuguese, by bribing the local Chinese authorities, achieved the expansion of the colony: the island of Taipa was annexed to Macau, and in 1864 the island of Coloane. Later, in 1887, Portugal, under a protocol imposed on China, received the right to “perpetual administration” of Macau.
During the Second World War, Macau was captured by Japan, but in 1945 Portugal regained control over this territory and in 1951 declared it an “overseas province”. In 1976 Macau was granted economic, financial and administrative autonomy.
After the establishment of diplomatic agreements between Portugal and the PRC and the resolution of the Hong Kong (Xianggang) problem in 1984, the fate of Macau was sealed. In accordance with the agreements in 1986, several stages of negotiations were held on the transfer of the colony to the PRC. According to the agreements reached, on December 20, 1999, Macau was transferred to the control of the PRC. In turn, China agreed to preserve the former way of life of Macao in the region for 50 years and not to spread the socialist model of development to it.
