Macau

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or Macao Chinese Aomen

Special administrative region (pop., 2005 est.: 470,000), southern China.

Located on the South China Sea coast about 40 mi (64 km) west of Hong Kong, it consists of a small peninsula, which projects from Guangdong province, and two small islands. Its total land area is 10.6 sq mi (27.5 sq km). Macau city is the administrative centre. Portuguese traders first arrived in Macau in 1513, and it soon became the chief market centre for trade between China and Japan. Portugal declared it an overseas province in 1844 and an overseas territory in 1951. In 1999 Portugal returned it to Chinese rule. Tourism and gambling are the mainstays of its economy.

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More on "Macau" from the 32 Volume Encyclopædia Britannica:

Macau - special administrative region (Pinyin tebie xingzhengqu; Wade-Giles t'e-pieh hsing-cheng-ch'u) of China, on the country's southern coast. Macau is located on the western side of the Pearl River (Chu Chiang) estuary (at the head of which is the port of Canton) and stands about 40 miles (64 km) opposite the special administrative region of Hong Kong, which is on the eastern side of the estuary. ...

Macau's Return to China - At a formal handover ceremony on Dec. 20, 1999, Macau, the last remaining dependent state in Asia and, therefore, the final vestige of European colonialism in the region, reverted to Chinese sovereignty after 442 years of Portuguese rule. The new Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR)-including the Macau Peninsula, Taipa Island, and Coloane Island-followed the path set by Hong Kong, which was ...

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Macau - Unemployment in Macau is relatively low. The service sector employs about one-third of the total labour force, and there are few skilled labourers. There also are few natural resources, an exception being fish in the Pearl River estuary, which satisfy local needs. Agriculture is minimal; rice and vegetables are the main crops, and some cattle, buffalo, pigs, and poultry are raised. Macau is, ...

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