Macau – Las Vegas of Asia

Did the ocean some how eroded the land so much that there need to be a bridge ? Last time I went from China to Macau, they were connected by land. Macau has always been a pennisula, not an island. Is that all changed now ?

There are two islands south of Macau, and are connected with Macau by two bridges. But those are not Macau proper.

Macau feels like a nice place. Just like Hong-Kong, they seem to drive on the left side on the road in contrast to rest of China. I also like that they have their own domains .mo and currency. Their autonomy will last to at least 2049. Apparently the cooler tourist’s stuff is on the southern islands, across the bridges, and I guess that’s where you’ll go if just staying for a short while?

Well it is called the Macau peninsula however technically it is an Island. There is a canal separating Macau from Zhuhai and there is a tiny land strip connecting Macau and Zhuhai.

You are right that Macau is called a peninsula however that could be disputed.

“Macau lies just south of Zhuhai and is connected with the mainland by a bridge and on that bridge two checkpoints are placed. ”

I do not know where you are getting this info…

Actually Macao is a peninsula. It is physically part of the mainland and yes is seperated only by a “no-man’s-land” which is very thin and is traversed by the border gates. But the no-man’s land is on the ground just like everything else, no bridges in sight.
Macao consists of the peninsula and what was two islands but effectively now, thanks to land reclamation, one big island consisting of Taipa, Coloane & CoTai. CoTai has a bridge going over to the HengQin Island of ZhuHai, mainland China. But not the bridge you were talking about as it is not the main port of entry.
And Taipa is connected to Macao peninsula by 3 bridges.

“When one comes to Macau checkpoint everything is written in …. Portugese and Traditional Chinese. And one starts to wonder why is it so?”

Well, Macao belonged to the Portuguese for a long time and as part of the handover deal they made sure that their language remained as one of the two official languages of Macao. Traditional Chinese characters are used because Macao was part of Portugal when the mainland government decided to simplify the characters. So, Macao, like HK still lives in the past and uses the old style writing.

“Well Macau was once Portugese and belonged to them for 300 years I think. The people in Macau however do not understand the language and everyone speaks Cantonese. I asked the taxi driver if he could get me to “Portas Do Cerco” on my way home and he didnt understand anything. The first thing that came to my mind is that this colony was certainly a failure….”

Macao “was Portuguese” for 450 years. Granted to them peacefully & Voluntarily (unlike HK)
Macao’s population was mostly, something like 97%, Cantonese people. So, they speak Cantonese. The “Ruling class” all 3ish% were the Portuguese speakers. And unlike the British in HK they seemed to have (In my opinion) completely neglected the local populace and were only interested in what money could be taken out and back to Portugal. Little attention was paid to improving the lives or educating the locals. In a way you are right, it was a failure because, well the Portuguese just didn’t give a s..t. But in actuality it must be noted this place was NEVER actually a Colony. It was considered a Chinese territory under Portuguese administration.

In Macao there are no mopeds. Just heavily polluting scooters and 125cc motorcycles.

“The biggest casino in Macau is Grand Lisboa which is shaped like a Giant Lotus flower.”
Please, the Venetian is the second largest building in the world. So, I guess that means it is a colossus compared to the smallish Lisboa

“New Yaohan is situated in south Macau just behind the Sea Terminal.”
That New Yaohan is closed. The New, New Yaohan is down near the Old Lisboa. Neither one could be considered SOUTH as they are on the Peninsula which is definitely NORTH of both Islands of Taipa, Coloane & CoTai…

Macao does have one other industry that keeps customers flocking in (male customers at least) and that is prostitution. Completely legal in Macao.
While it is also legal in HK in Macao it is on a different scale.
In HK it is a One woman one room rule, meaning one woman can offer herself for rent out of her own flat. That is all. Whereas in Macao there are full on brothels. The call themselves saunas because the offer jacuzzis and steam rooms while they parade line-up after line-up of girls past hungry male eyes. Who just tell the staff which girl they want by the number the girl is wearing.

Macao is a great place to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there. I know, I did for ten years!

“Well it is called the Macau peninsula however technically it is an Island. There is a canal separating Macau from Zhuhai and there is a tiny land strip connecting Macau and Zhuhai.

You are right that Macau is called a peninsula however that could be disputed.”

?????

NO it can not be disputed.
Macao is attached to the mainland by LAND not by a bridge. Whether or not there is a canal is of no significance. The canal DOES NOT go all the way around. Also I think there is a question of depth… If all it took was a canal to seperate lands then I suppose some would consider the USA to be made up of two seperate Islands seperated in the middle by the Mississippi River… And well there are all those other rivers too. Hmmm, so maybe the USA is made up of a bunch of islands… ALL of them much deeper than the little canal you are talking of which as I said before DOES NOT go all the way around.

The Mainland and Macao governments are not disputing this. All official documents refer to Macao as a Peninsula. NOT as an Island because it is NOT AN ISLAND.

the first time i went to Macau i didnt know what to expect.. but its a destination worth of awe.. if you havent been there its time you took the trip

the most beautiful place is shenzhen, feel like you are in your own home town.