Macau: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau.jpg|right|thumb|350px|{{#ifexist:Template:Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau.jpg/credit|{{Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau.jpg/credit}}<br/>|}} | [[Image:Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau.jpg|right|thumb|350px|{{#ifexist:Template:Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau.jpg/credit|{{Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau.jpg/credit}}<br/>|}}Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau.]]'''Macau Special Administrative Region''' (SAR) is a former [[Portugal|Portuguese]] overseas colony. Macau may also be spelt '''Macao''' in Chinese is is '''澳門''', which transliterates to '''Àomén''' in Mandarin Pinyin or '''Ou Mun''' in Cantonese. | ||
Macau comprises a peninsula and two islands, Taipa 氹仔 and Cotai 路氹, in the Pearl River delta in the south of the [[People's Republic of China]]. A narrow land border joins the Macau peninsula to [[Guandong]] (Canton) province. A second border point is formed by the friendship bridge, which joins the newly reclaimed land of Coloane 路環 to the mainland. | Macau comprises a peninsula and two islands, Taipa 氹仔 and Cotai 路氹, in the Pearl River delta in the south of the [[People's Republic of China]]. A narrow land border joins the Macau peninsula to [[Guandong]] (Canton) province. A second border point is formed by the friendship bridge, which joins the newly reclaimed land of Coloane 路環 to the mainland. | ||
Revision as of 01:17, 13 August 2008
Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) is a former Portuguese overseas colony. Macau may also be spelt Macao in Chinese is is 澳門, which transliterates to Àomén in Mandarin Pinyin or Ou Mun in Cantonese.
Macau comprises a peninsula and two islands, Taipa 氹仔 and Cotai 路氹, in the Pearl River delta in the south of the People's Republic of China. A narrow land border joins the Macau peninsula to Guandong (Canton) province. A second border point is formed by the friendship bridge, which joins the newly reclaimed land of Coloane 路環 to the mainland.
Macau is relatively small, covering just 28.2 square kilometres of land as of 2005. This figure is increasing as land reclamation work continues. The city of Macau is located on Macau Peninsula. Most old buildings are found on the peninsula. The old center of Macau contains a large number of colonial Portuguese buildings that have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site covering 25 locations throughout the city.
To the south of the peninsula are the two Macauese islands of Taipa and Cotai. Three bridges join Taipa to Macau city. Between Taipa and Cotai, a large area of land has been reclaimed. This district is known as Coloane and is the scene of much industrial and commercial development, with many large casinos setting up here. Off the east coast of Taipa, another large area of reclaimed land forms Macau airport. Because of poor communication links between the islands, Taipa and Cotai have only recently been developed.
Like Hong Kong, Macau has retained special status within the People's Republic of China. Under the system of one country, two systems, Macau has a highly independent government and legal system that is distinct from the rest of China. The region has its own currency, the pataca, though mainland renminbi (RMB) and Hong Kong dollars are widely accepted. Also, like Hong Kong, Macau SAR has its own customs and immigration policies. This means that travel between Macau and Hong Kong or mainland China are treated in similar fashion to travel between foreign countries, requiring the associated passports, visas and customs checks.