About Macau

Macau is strategically located within one of the world’s fastest growing economic regions, with more than one billion people residing within just three hours’ flying time.

Macau International Airport is serviced by more than 10 regional and international airlines and is only a 45-minute ferry ride from Hong Kong International Airport, the world’s fifth busiest airport.

Macau offers world-class infrastructure, a unique blend of cultures, stunning diversity and a convenient location within the world’s most dynamic economic region.

History

Fujian fishermen and farmers from Guangdong were the first recorded community to settle in Macau, then known as Ou Mun or “trading gate” because of its location at the mouth of the Pearl River downstream from Canton (modern day Guangzhou). During ancient times, this port constituted part of the legendary Silk Road, with ships there taking on board silks for Rome, silver for Japan, and all manner of exotic spices for near and far.

In the early 1550s, the Portuguese reached Ou Mun, which the local population also called A Ma Gao or “place of A Ma,” in honour of the Goddess of Seafarers, whose temple stands to this day at the entrance to the sheltered Inner Harbour. The Portuguese adopted the name, which gradually became “Macau,” and with the permission of Guangdong’s mandarins, established a city that within a short time became a major entrepot for trade between China, Japan, India and the continent of Europe.

Macau, in effect, became the natural crossroads for the amalgamation of Eastern and Western cultures.

Following the Opium War in 1841, Hong Kong was colonized by Britain, with many foreign merchants departing Macau to establish their enterprises there. Macau, nevertheless, continued to enjoy a leisurely multicultural existence and made daily, practical use of its historic buildings, becoming, in the process, a mesmerizing stopover for international travellers, writers and artists.

In the modern era, Macau developed industries such as textiles, electronics and toys, in tandem with a world-class tourism industry offering a wide choice of hotels, resorts, sports facilities, restaurants and casinos. As in the past, Macau’s economy is closely linked to that of Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, and in particular to the Pearl River Delta, a region justifiably known as one of Asia’s “little tigers.”

Today, Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, and, like Hong Kong, benefits from the principle of “One Country, Two Systems.” The tiny SAR is growing in size – with more building on reclaimed land – and in the number and diversity of its attractions. The greatest of these continues to be Macau’s unique society, with communities from the East and West living in harmony with each other as they have for centuries, and the increasing number of business people and tourists who visit.

“The Historic Centre of Macau,” home to 25 UNESCO-listed World Heritage sites, is living testimony to the assimilation and continued coexistence of Eastern and Western cultures in a unique chapter of history. The district bears witness to successful East-West cultural pluralism, and proclaims China’s open embrace of Western cultural concepts throughout that historic time frame. Its value lies not only in the completeness of its architectural and urban landscape but in the fact that these elements have retained their original function and spirit to the present day. As an integral part of the city’s life, the conservation of “The Historic Centre of Macau” is crucial to the local community, while in a broader context this district represents a significant part of Chinese and world history, which, due to its historic and cultural significance, must be preserved.

“The Historic Centre of Macau’ was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005, making it the 31st designated World Heritage site in China.