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>> Useful Info >> Macau |
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Overview |
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Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and is located on the coast approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles) southwest of Hong Kong and is connected to China’s Guangdong Province.
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Macau is renowned for the permanent Portuguese presence that began in the mid-1500s and the resulting southern European influence that is still clearly evident in Macau today. Portugal de facto governed Macau for centuries even before the official agreement with China that ceded governance to Portugal in 1887. Macau was returned to Chinese sovereignty in a highly publicized handover on December 20, 1999.
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Macau is more recently famous as one of the world’s fastest growing entertainment and leisure holiday destinations. More than 20 million visitors arrive in Macau annually, largely drawn by international casinos, like Grand Lisboa, Wynn Macau, Sands Macao, Venetian Macao, MGM Grand Macau, Crown Macau, and StarWorld. The fact that Macau surpassed Las Vegas to become the largest gambling location in terms of gaming revenue made world headlines and further solidified Macau’s position as a world-class entertainment town.
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Tour in Macau |
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Ruins of St. Paul's
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The great ruined façade and staircase to the church of the Mother of God - now popularly known as St. Paul's - is the most famous landmark of Macau. Designed by an Italian Jesuit, and, with the assistance of Japanese Christian artisans who had fled from feudal persecution in Nagasaki, the church was built from 1602 to 1637. In 1835, a fire burned it to the ground, leaving only the façade, the staircase and portions of a wall. It remained unchanged until a restoration was undertaken and completed in the summer of 1991. That façade is crowned by the cross of Jerusalem, below which are three tiers with niches containing statues that were cast from bronze, at a local cannon and bell factory.
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Leal Senado Square
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The 3700m, Leal Senado Square is paved with a wave-patterned mosaic of coloured stones, designed by Portuguese experts.
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Guia Fort
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Built on the highest point of Macau between 1637 and 1638, the fortress contains a chapel and a lighthouse. The chapel inside is in the style of Portuguese heritages of the 17th century.
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The right side of this chapel is a bell which was made in 1707. The lighthouse, which is the dominating feature of the Fort, was built by a local-born Portuguese. It was first lit up on September 24, 1865, and is the oldest on the China coast. The light house standing only 16 feet tall, its beam can be seen from 20 miles at sea under good weather conditions. To this day, it serves as a guiding beacon for the passing boats.
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Gambling in Hong Kong |
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Gambling in Macau
has been legal since the 1850s when the Portuguese government legalized the activity in the colony. Since then, Macau has become world-renowned as the “Monte carlo of the Orient", and gambling has become a significant part of the city's economy. Until Western-style casino games were introduced in the 20th century, only Chinese games were played, the most popular being Fan-Tan. Now, with all the casinos built in the territory including a few number of new ones (some of them are Las Vegas giant companies) opening up soon, Macau is also known as East Las Vegas.
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Casino Lisboa
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Casino Lisboa
is owned by the Sociedade de Turismoe Diversoes de Macau (STDM), a Stanley Ho company. This three-storey complex was built in the late 1960s. Since then Macau has been known as the "Monte Carlo of the Orient“. It is Dr Ho's flagship casino located within the Hotel Lisboa.
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Diamond Casino
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Diamond Casino is located on four floors, up the escalator from the hotel lobby entrance. There are tons of gaming tables as well as video slots, video poker (!) and a small bank of spinning reel slots (the few found in Macau). The staff is incredibly friendly and the clientele is having a great time all the time. This is a really upbeat joint compared to a lot of the other SJM casinos that have a downer vie to them.
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