Macau Hotels Pousadas and Casino Lodging

Macau

Macau Special Administrative Region

Geography
Area: 28.2 square kilometers total, with 8.9 sq. km. on a peninsula connected to China and the southern islands of Taipa (6.5 sq. km.), Coloane (7.6 sq. km.), and Co Tai (5.2 sq. km., reclaimed land between Taipa and Coloane) linked by bridge and causeway. Terrain: Coastline is flat, inland is hilly and rocky.
Climate: Tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer.

People
Nationality: Noun--Macanese (sing. and pl.).
Population (1st Quarter 2007): 513,427.
Population growth rate (3rd quarter 2006): 5.4%.
Ethnic groups: Chinese 95.7%, Portuguese 1.7%.
Religions: Buddhist 17%, Roman Catholic 7%, Christian 2%.
Languages: In 1992, the government gave the Chinese (Cantonese) language official status and the same legal force as Portuguese, the official language.
Education: Literacy--91.3%.
Work force: Manufacturing--9.0%; construction--11.9%; wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants--23.3%; financial intermediation, real estate, and related business activities--8.4%; public administration, other community, social and personal services, including gaming--27.9%; transport, storage and communications--6.6%.

Government
Type: Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China since December 20, 1999 with its own mini-constitution (the Basic Law).
Branches: Executive--President of the People's Republic of China (head of state), chief executive (head of government), Executive Council (cabinet). Legislative--Legislative Assembly. Judicial--Independent judicial system with a high court (the Court of Final Appeal).

Economy
GDP at 2002 constant prices (2006): $14.3 billion.
GDP real growth rate (2006): 16.6%.
Per capita GDP at 2002 constant prices (1st Quarter 2007): $28,436.
Agriculture: Products--rice and vegetables; most foodstuffs and water are imported.
Industry: Types--tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, toys, footwear, construction, and real estate development.
Trade (2006): Exports--$2.6 billion f.o.b.: textiles and clothing, manufactured goods (especially toys, footwear and machinery & mechanical appliances). Major markets--U.S. 44.1%, Hong Kong 11.2%, China 14.8%, EU 19.5%. Imports--$4.6 billion: consumer goods, foodstuffs, fuels, and raw materials. Major suppliers--China 45.1%, Hong Kong 10.2%, EU 13.1%, U.S. 5.5%, Taiwan 3.2%, Japan 8.3%.

PEOPLE
Macau's population is 95.7% Chinese, primarily Cantonese and some Hakka, both from nearby Guangdong Province. The remainder are of Portuguese or mixed Chinese-Portuguese ancestry. The official languages are Portuguese and Chinese (Cantonese). English is spoken in tourist areas. Macau has ten higher education institutions, including the University of Macau; 80.7% of the University of Macau's 5,562 students are local and 19.3% from overseas.

HISTORY
Chinese records of Macau date back to the establishment in 1152 of Xiangshan County under which Macau was administered, though it remained unpopulated through most of the next century. Members of the South Sung (Song) Dynasty and some 50,000 followers were the first recorded inhabitants of the area, seeking refuge in Macau from invading Mongols in 1277. They were able to defend their settlements and establish themselves there.

The Hoklo Boat people were the first to show commercial interest in Macau as a trading center for the southern provinces. Macau did not develop as a major settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century. Portuguese traders used Macau as a staging port as early as 1516, making it the oldest European settlement in the Far East. In 1557, the Chinese agreed to a Portuguese settlement in Macau but did not recognize Portuguese sovereignty. Although a Portuguese municipal government was established, the sovereignty question remained unresolved.

Initially, the Portuguese developed Macau's port as a trading post for China-Japan trade and as a staging port on the long voyage from Lisbon to Nagasaki. When Chinese officials banned direct trade with Japan in 1547, Macau's Portuguese traders carried goods between the two countries. The first Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau in 1680, but the Chinese continued to assert their authority, collecting land and customs taxes. Portugal continued to pay rent to China until 1849, when the Portuguese abolished the Chinese customs house and declared Macau's "independence," a year which also saw Chinese retaliation and finally the assassination of Gov. Ferreira do Amaral.

On March 26, 1887, the Manchu government acknowledged the Portuguese right of "perpetual occupation." The Manchu-Portuguese agreement, known as the Protocol of Lisbon, was signed with the condition that Portugal would never surrender Macau to a third party without China's permission.

Macau enjoyed a brief period of economic prosperity during World War II as the only neutral port in South China, after the Japanese occupied Guangzhou (Canton) and Hong Kong. In 1943, Japan created a virtual protectorate over Macau. Japanese domination ended in August 1945.

When the Chinese communists came to power in 1949, they declared the Protocol of Lisbon to be invalid as an "unequal treaty" imposed by foreigners on China. However, Beijing was not ready to settle the treaty question, requesting maintenance of "the status quo" until a more appropriate time. Beijing took a similar position on treaties relating to the Hong Kong territories.

Riots broke out in 1966 when pro-communist Chinese elements and the Macau police clashed. The Portuguese Government reached an agreement with China to end the flow of refugees from China and to prohibit all communist demonstrations. This move ended the conflict, and relations between the government and the leftist organizations have remained peaceful.

The Portuguese tried once in 1966 after the riots in Macau, and again in 1974, the year of a military revolution in Portugal, to return Macau to Chinese sovereignty. China refused to reclaim Macau however, hoping to settle the question of Hong Kong first.

Portugal and China established diplomatic relations in 1979. A year later, Gen. Melo Egidio became the first Governor of Macau to visit China. The visit underscored both parties' interest in finding a mutually agreeable solution to Macau's status; negotiations began in 1985, a year after the signing of the Sino-U.K. agreement returning Hong Kong to China in 1997. The result was a 1987 agreement returning Macau to Chinese sovereignty as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on December 20, 1999.

Macau