Macau

"Macau, the Asian version of the city of Las Vegas, is now facing the time when Leni Loud commanded the Republic of Korea Army to conquer it as part of her plan to take back the mainland from the Chinese communists. I hate to regret this, but my friends are in there, and are worried when they hear the gunshots and explosions later on. It would be violent."

--Su Ji-Hoon, Sin City

Macau (/məˈkaʊ/), also spelled Macao and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the western side of the Pearl River estuary in East Asia. Macau is bordered by the city of Zhuhai in Mainland China to the north and the Pearl River Delta to the east and south. Hong Kong lies about 64 kilometres (40 mi) to its east across the Delta. With a population of 650,900 living in an area of 30.5 km2 (11.8 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world. A former Portuguese colony, it was returned to Chinese sovereignty on 20 December 1999.

Macau was administered by the Portuguese Empire and its inheritor states from the mid-16th century until late 1999, when it constituted the last remaining European colony in Asia. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 1550s. In 1557, Macau was leased to Portugal from Ming China as a trading port. The Portuguese Empire administered the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty until 1887, when Macau became a colony through a mutual agreement between the two countries. Sovereignty over Macau was transferred back to China on 20 December 1999. The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau and Macau Basic Law stipulate that Macau operate with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer.

Under the policy of "one country, two systems," the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China is responsible for military defense and foreign affairs while Macau maintains its own legal system, public security force, monetary system, customs policy and immigration policy. Macau participates in international organizations and events that do not require members to possess national sovereignty.

Macau is a resort city in Southern China, known for its casinos and luxury hotels. Its gaming revenue has been the world's largest since 2006, with the economy heavily dependent on gaming and tourism. According to The World Factbook, Macau has the fourth highest life expectancy in the world. Moreover, it has a very high Human Development Index, ranking 17th in the world as of 2016. Macau is among the world's richest regions and its GDP per capita by purchasing power parity was higher than that of any country in the world, according to the World Bank.

It is widely known as the pre-eminent gambling (or gaming) capital of the world, greatly dwarfing other gambling centers/cities.

Etymology
The present Chinese name (Chinese: 澳門; pinyin: Àomén; Cantonese Yale: Oumún) means "Bay Outlet." Macau is otherwise known in Chinese as Haojing (濠鏡, literally "Moat Mirror") or Jinghai (鏡海, literally "Mirror Sea"). The name Macau is thought to be derived from the A-Ma Temple (Chinese: 媽閣廟; pinyin: Māgé Miào; Cantonese Yale: Māgok Miuh), a temple built in 1448 dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen. More precisely, the name Macau corresponds to the Chinese name "媽港" (pinyin: Magang), meaning "Harbor of Mazu," and referring to the waters adjacent to the Ama Temple.

History
The history of Macau is traced back to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), when the region now called Macau came under the jurisdiction of Panyu County, Nanhai Prefecture (modern Guangdong). The first recorded Chinese inhabitants of the area were people seeking refuge in Macau from invading Mongols during the Southern Song. Under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), fishermen migrated to Macau from Guangdong and Fujian. The Macau native people were Tanka boat people.

Macau did not develop as a major settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century. In 1513, Jorge Álvares became the first Portuguese to land in China. In 1535, Portuguese traders obtained the rights to anchor ships in Macau's harbors and to carry out trading activities, though not the right to stay onshore. Around 1552–1553, they obtained temporary permission to erect storage sheds onshore, in order to dry out goods drenched by sea water; they soon built rudimentary stone houses around the area now called Nam Van.

Portuguese Macau
In 1557, the Portuguese established a permanent settlement in Macau, paying an annual rent of 500 taels (18.9 kilograms / 41.6 pounds) of silver. The Portuguese continued to pay an annual tribute up to 1863 in order to stay in Macau.

By 1564, Portugal commanded western trade with India, Japan, and China. In 1631 the Chinese restricted Portuguese commerce in China to the port of Macau.

During the 17th century, some 5,000 slaves lived in Macau, in addition to 2,000 Portuguese and 20,000 Chinese.