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.

Names

The name "Macau" is thought to be derived from "'Templo de A-Má" (??? Cantonese Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3 Miu6, local pronunciation: Maa5 Gok3 Miu6 or Maa5 Gok3 Miu5), a still-existing landmark built in 1448 dedicated to the goddess Matsu.

Related Topics:
Jyutping - 1448 - Matsu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Chinese name ?? (pinyin: Àomén, Cantonese Jyutping: Ou3 Mun4) means "Inlet Gates". The "gates" refer to two erect gate-like mountains of Nantai ({{zh-cp|c=??|p=Nántái}}) and Beitai ({{zh-cp|c=??|p=B?itái}}).

Related Topics:
Pinyin - Nantai - Beitai

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Or the other source: "Ao" from Macau's previous name "Heung San O" and "men" from "door", as it is geographically situated at "Cross' Door".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Macau is also known as Ho King O (???; Haojing'ao; "Trench-mirror Inlet"), Heung San O (???; Xiangshan'ao; "Fragrant-mountain Inlet"), Lin Do (??; Liandao; "Lotus Island"), as well as "Soda port" (???).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While Àomén/Ou3 Mun4 is the traditional Chinese name of the place, it is common among the Cantonese-speaking population of the territory to use the Portuguese name when speaking in Cantonese, pronouncing it as Maa3 Gaau1 (in Jyutping romanization), and occasionally rendering it phonetically as ?? in Chinese characters.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The form "Macao" was the original Portuguese spelling, and has been retained in most European languages. In modern Portuguese, the correct spelling is "Macau". During the 20th century, the official spelling "Macau" became more and more common in English-language sources, including most of the print media.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since the handover of sovereignty, the government of Macau considers "Macao" the official English spelling of the name, whereas "Macau" remains the official spelling in Portuguese. This is the practice followed in official documents like passports and immigration forms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The pinyin transcription "Aomen" has occasionally been used in English as if it were the official name for Macau. However, this is not the case, as only "Macao" is official in English.

Related Topics:
Lhasa - Ürümqi - Hohhot

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~