Special administrative region · South China
Macau
澳门
Four centuries of Portuguese and Chinese history on the Pearl River estuary
Macau (officially Macao) is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China on the west side of the Pearl River estuary, bordering Zhuhai in Guangdong. Settled by Portuguese traders from 1557 and administered by Portugal until 20 December 1999, it is governed under “one country, two systems” and its Basic Law, with its own legal system, currency and immigration controls. Its historic centre is a World Heritage site, and its economy is dominated by tourism and casino gaming.
Key facts
- Status
- Special administrative region of the PRC since 20 December 1999
- Area
- about 33 km² (land)[1]
- Population
- 688,900(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross domestic product
- about MOP 418 billion(as of 2025)[3]
- Census population
- 683,200(as of 2021 census)[2]
- Currency
- Pataca
- Official languages
- Chinese and Portuguese
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Historic Centre of Macao (2005)[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 澳门
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 澳
- Type
- Special administrative region
- Region
- South China
- Seat of government
- Macau
- Area
- about 33 km²
- Divisions
- The Macau Peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Coloane, now joined by the Cotai reclamation; seven parishes (freguesias) are used for statistics
- Ethnic groups
- Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Macanese, Vietnamese
- Languages
- Cantonese, Portuguese, Mandarin, Patuá (Macanese creole)
- Neighbours
- Guangdong
Languages
Cantonese
粤语
The everyday language of the great majority; Chinese is written in traditional characters.
Portuguese
葡萄牙语
An official language with Chinese, used in law and government; street names are bilingual.
Mandarin
普通话
Widely understood, and the common language with mainland visitors.
Patuá (Macanese creole)
土生葡语
The Portuguese-based creole of the Macanese community, now critically endangered and kept alive mainly in theatre.
Name and abbreviation
The Portuguese name Macau is traditionally derived from 妈阁 (Cantonese Māgok), the temple of the sea goddess A-Ma at the entrance to the Inner Harbour, where the first Portuguese are said to have landed; the bay was known as 阿妈港, “A-Ma's harbour”. The Chinese name 澳门 (Cantonese Oumún) means roughly “bay gate”, from the old name 濠镜澳 and the two hills that frame the harbour like a gate. “Macao” is the spelling used in the region's official English and in international usage; “Macau” is the Portuguese spelling.
Historic names
濠镜澳
“oyster-mirror bay”
Ming name for the bay, recorded before and during the early Portuguese period.
香山县
The Chinese county, today Zhongshan and Zhuhai, to which Macau belonged under the Ming and Qing.
A-Ma
妈阁
The temple and headland from which the Portuguese name is traditionally derived.
Land and climate
Macau is one of the most densely populated places in the world. The historic city occupies the small, hilly Macau Peninsula, attached to Zhuhai by a narrow isthmus at the Border Gate. To the south, the former islands of Taipa and Coloane have been joined by the reclaimed strip of Cotai, where most of the large resorts stand. The territory's land area has roughly doubled through reclamation since the early twentieth century; in 2015 the central government also defined 85 km² of sea under Macau's administration.
Landforms
Guia Hill
东望洋山
The highest point of the peninsula, with Guia Fortress, chapel and the oldest modern lighthouse on the China coast.
Coloane
路环
The greenest part of Macau, with hiking trails, beaches and the highest hill, Coloane Alto (about 170 m).
Cotai
路氹城
Reclaimed land between Taipa and Coloane, built up with resorts from the 2000s.
Rivers and lakes
Pearl River estuary
珠江口
The brown estuary waters around Macau, carrying silt from the West River.
Inner Harbour
内港
The historic harbour on the peninsula's western side, facing Zhuhai.
Climate
Subtropical, with a hot, humid, rainy summer and typhoons from May to October, and a mild, dry winter. October to December is the most comfortable time to visit.
History
Portuguese traders, having reached the China coast in the 1510s, were allowed by Ming officials to settle at Macau around 1557 in return for an annual ground rent. The city became the hub of Portuguese trade between Japan, China, South-East Asia and India, and the base of the Jesuit mission to China and Japan. From the mid-nineteenth century Portugal stopped paying the rent and asserted full control, confirmed in the Sino-Portuguese treaty of 1887. Overshadowed by Hong Kong, Macau became known for its gambling concessions. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration of 1987 provided for the transfer of administration, and the Macao Special Administrative Region was established on 20 December 1999.
c. 1557
Portuguese settlement
Ming officials allowed Portuguese merchants to reside and trade at Macau.
1594
College of St Paul
The Jesuit college, the first Western-style university in East Asia, trained missionaries for China and Japan.
24 June 1622
Dutch attack repelled
A Dutch force was defeated at Macau; the day was long celebrated as the City Day.
1835
Fire at St Paul's
The church of Mater Dei was destroyed, leaving the carved stone façade that became Macau's symbol.
1849
Governor Ferreira do Amaral
The governor closed the Chinese customs house and stopped paying ground rent; he was assassinated the same year.
1887
Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking
China recognised Portugal's perpetual occupation and government of Macau.
1966
The 12-3 incident
Riots in December 1966 led the Portuguese administration to accept greater influence of pro-Beijing groups.
13 April 1987
Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration
The two governments agreed on the transfer of Macau to China in 1999.
31 March 1993
Basic Law adopted
The National People's Congress adopted the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
20 December 1999
Macao Special Administrative Region established
China resumed the exercise of sovereignty; the Chief Executive replaced the Governor.
2002
Gaming concessions liberalised
The end of the single casino monopoly brought in new operators and the resort development of Cotai.
2005
Historic Centre of Macao inscribed as World Heritage
The inscription recognises the meeting of Chinese and Western architecture and urban life.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Cultural · inscribed 2005
澳门历史城区
Twenty-two buildings and eight squares, including A-Ma Temple, Senado Square, the ruins of St Paul's, Mount Fortress and Guia Fortress, spanning more than four centuries.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2009
Yueju opera
粤剧
Cantonese opera, inscribed as a joint element of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.
Culture
Macau's culture is a layered mix of Cantonese life, Portuguese heritage and the creole culture of the Macanese — families of mixed Portuguese and Asian descent. Catholic processions pass through streets lined with Chinese temples; Portuguese tiles, calçada pavements and colonial churches stand beside Cantonese shophouses and clan associations. The casinos and resorts of Cotai make up a separate world alongside the old city.
Opera, music and dance
Cantonese opera
粤剧
Performed at temple festivals and in Macau's theatres.
Patuá theatre
土生土语话剧
Comedies in Macanese creole, staged by the Dóci Papiaçám di Macau group.
Drunken Dragon Festival
醉龙节
Fishmongers dance with wooden dragon heads and drink rice wine on the Buddha's Birthday, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month.
Crafts
Calçada portuguesa
葡式碎石路
Wave-patterned black-and-white stone paving, laid by hand in Senado Square and the old streets.
Deity sculpture
神像雕刻
Carving of wooden statues of Chinese deities for temples and household shrines.
Festivals and customs
Procession of Our Lord of Passos
苦难善耶稣圣像出游
Lenten procession carrying a statue of Christ between St Augustine's Church and the Cathedral.
A-Ma Festival
妈祖诞
Birthday of the sea goddess, celebrated at A-Ma Temple with Cantonese opera.
Cuisine
Everyday food in Macau is Cantonese, but the territory is best known for Macanese cuisine (土生葡菜), a fusion developed over centuries from Portuguese, Chinese, Indian, Malay and African ingredients and techniques. Portuguese restaurants and bakeries are also part of daily life. Macao was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017.
Signature dishes
Minchi
免治
Minced meat fried with potato and soy, often topped with a fried egg — the Macanese home dish.
African chicken
非洲鸡
Grilled chicken in a spicy sauce of peanuts, coconut and chilli.
Portuguese egg tart
葡式蛋挞
Flaky tart with a caramelised custard, popularised by a Coloane bakery in the late 1980s.
Pork chop bun
猪扒包
Marinated fried pork chop in a crusty bread roll, a Taipa speciality.
Serradura
木糠布甸
“Sawdust pudding” of cream layered with crushed biscuit.
Specialities
Almond cookies
杏仁饼
Crumbly cookies of mung-bean flour shaped with almonds, sold on the streets near St Paul's.
Jerky
猪肉干
Sheets of sweet barbecued pork and beef jerky.
Notable people
Wu Li (1632–1718)
吴历
Qing painter who studied with the Jesuits in Macau and became one of the first Chinese Catholic priests.
George Chinnery (1774–1852)
钱纳利
English painter who lived in Macau from 1825 and recorded its streets and people; he is buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery.
Zheng Guanying (1842–1922)
郑观应
Comprador and reformist author of Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity (盛世危言), written at the family mansion now known as the Mandarin's House.
Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925)
孙中山
Practised medicine in Macau in 1892–1893 before turning to revolution.
Economy
Macau's economy is dominated by tourism and gaming: since the liberalisation of casino concessions in 2002, integrated resorts on the peninsula and in Cotai have made it one of the largest gaming centres in the world by revenue, and gaming taxes provide most government revenue. Policy aims to diversify the economy into conventions and exhibitions, traditional Chinese medicine, modern finance and technology, and to use Macau's Portuguese heritage as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. It is a separate customs territory, a free port and a member of the World Trade Organization; its currency is the pataca.
Main industries
- Gaming and integrated resorts
- Tourism, hotels and retail
- Conventions and exhibitions
- Financial services
- Traditional Chinese medicine
Zones, ports and hubs
Hengqin Guangdong–Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone
横琴粤澳深度合作区
Zone on Hengqin Island in Zhuhai, jointly administered by Guangdong and Macau since 2021, intended to give Macau room for new industries.
Forum Macao
中国—葡语国家经贸合作论坛
Forum for economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, set up in Macau in 2003.
Getting there
- Macau International Airport on Taipa has regional routes; many visitors fly into Hong Kong or Zhuhai instead.
- The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge links Macau with Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau; high-speed ferries run from Hong Kong and Shenzhen to the Outer Harbour and Taipa terminals.
- The Border Gate and Hengqin crossings lead into Zhuhai, whose station links to the Guangzhou intercity railway.
- Macau has its own immigration controls and entry rules, separate from those of the mainland and of Hong Kong; travellers pass exit and entry formalities at every crossing.
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Macao SAR Government Portal — Government of the Macao SAR (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) — Statistics and Census Service, Macao SAR (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Detailed results of gross domestic product for the whole year and the fourth quarter of 2025 — Statistics and Census Service, Macao SAR (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Historic Centre of Macao — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Macau — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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