Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, ?Chinese:??????????????? short form Macau or Macao (short form of Chinese: ???also informally known as "??") (see Names), is a small territory on the southern coast of China. It is 70 km southwest of Hong Kong and 145 km from Guangzhou. It was the oldest European colony in China, dating back to the 16th century. The Portuguese government transferred sovereignty over Macau to the People's Republic of China in 1999, and it is now run as a Special Administrative Region of the PRC. Residents of Macau mostly speak Cantonese natively; Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and English are also spoken.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Macau

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Macau consists of a peninsula, and the islands of Taipa and Coloane.

Related Topics:
A peninsula - Taipa - Coloane

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The peninsula is formed by the Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xijiang (West River) on the west. It borders the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in mainland China.

Related Topics:
Peninsula - Zhujiang - Estuary - Xijiang - Zhuhai - Special Economic Zone - Mainland China

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Macau has a generally flat terrain resulting from extensive land reclamation, but numerous steep hills mark the original natural land mass. The Macau peninsula was originally an island, but gradually a connecting sandbar turned into a narrow isthmus. Land reclamation in the 17th century made Macau into a peninsula.

Related Topics:
Land reclamation - Island - Sandbar - Isthmus

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With a dense urban environment, Macau has no arable land, pastures, forest, or woodland. Because of this deficiency, Macau's people traditionally have looked to the sea for their livelihood.

Related Topics:
Urban - Arable land - Woodland

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