About Macau

In the early 1550s the Portuguese reached Ou Mun, which the locals also called A Ma Gao, "place of A Ma", in honour of the Goddess of Seafarers, whose temple stood at the entrance to the sheltered Inner Harbour. The Portuguese adopted the name, which gradually changes into the name Macau, and with the permission of Guangdong's mandarins, established a city that within a short time had become a major entrepot for trade between China, Japan, India and Europe.

In modern times Macau has developed industries such as textiles, electronics and toys, as well as building up an a world class tourist industry with a wide choice of hotels, resorts, sports facilities, restaurants and casinos.

The Macau Special Administrative Region has an area of 28.6 sq. km, comprised of the Macau Peninsula, the islands of Taipa and Coloane and the reclaimed area COTAI. The three bridges connecting Macau to Taipa are Nobre de Carvalho, the Friendship Bridge and Sai Van Bridge. The longest one (Friendship Bridge) leads directly to Macau International Airport located on the Island of Taipa.

The total population was estimated to be 531,400. Chinese and Portuguese are the official languages, Cantonese being most widely spoken. Foreign currency or travellers' cheques can be changed in hotels, banks and authorised exchange dealers located all around the city.