In the 18th and early 19th centuries Taipa consisted of two hilly islands and a protected harbour which provided an anchorage for clipper ships and Indiamen engaged in trade with China. Simaller vessels would trans-ship their cargoes of muslin, manufactured goods and opium up the Pearl River to Canton and return with tea, silk and porcelain for export around the world. Taipa is now again an international gateway with Macau International Airport. Besides that, Macau University, Macau Jockey Club and Macau Stadium are situated in Taipa.

TOP

Situated on the Southeastern coast of China in the Guangdong Province, Macau is 60 kilometers west of Hong Kong and 145 kilometers south of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. The territory comprises a peninsula and two islands and the total area is 23.8 square kilometers.

The zone which is nowadays called Macau was at first inhabited by fishermen coming from the China province of Fujin and Guangdong, which used the coves between the islands and harbours in this area in order to repair their ships and to get fresh supplies of drinking water.

Jorge Alvares became the first Portuguese to set foot in Southern China in 1513and this visit was followed by the establishment of a number of Portuguese trading centres in the Pearl River delta. These were eventually consolidated at Macau, which soon wielded, with the permission of the Emperor of China, a virtual monopoly on trade between China and Japan and between both nations and Europe. Besides being the sole commercial entrepot between the two worlds - a situation which was maintained for many years - Macau served as a vital base for merchants as well as for Christian missionaries to China and Japan, an activity which provided the city with some of the most glorious - and tempestuous - moments in its history.

With the creation of Hong Kong after the first Optium War in 1841, Macau loses its statute of a growing trading centre.

However, Macau has always displayed an atmosphere, which made it different from the surrounding areas.

Today it is still the mixture of the Chinese and Portuguese culture harmoniously maintain and developed by its peoples.







Coloane

When Macau was the centre of trade between China and the West, the island of Coloane proved a convenient base for pirates who preyed on the rich cargoes.

It offered desert coves, rugged cliffs, large sea caves and densely forested hills. The only visitors from the mainland were hunters in search of quail and pigeon. The last pirate was repulsed in 1910. The causeway was built in 1969 and roads laid around the island.

The two beaches of the island with sport infrastructures in adjacent parks, a high quality green for golf, a "Kartodrome", a horse ground where visitors can rent horses and have a good ride and several hotels and resorts, offering a huge range of facilities and entertainment.

TOP