Originally governed under the authority of China, Macao was formerly a colony of the Portuguese empire. It has a separate political and economic system from that of China. The government of Macao is headed by Fernando Chui, the Chief executive of Macao.
Macao has the world’s largest gambling center and its economy is largely dependent on gambling and Tourism. The currency of Macao is the Macanese Pataca.
Cantonese and Portuguese are the official languages of Macao. The city has its own dialect of Portuguese, known as Macanese Portuguese. Mandarin and English are other languages spoken in Macao. 55% of the population are not affiliated to any religion, 30% follows folk faiths, 10% are Buddhist or Taoist, and the remaining 5% are Christians most of which are Catholics.
The annual temperature of Macao is 22.7 °C. July is the warmest month, the average temperature being 28.9 °C. The coolest month is January, with a mean temperature of 14.5 °C. In Macao, autumn is from October to November, winter, from December to early March is generally mild with temperatures above 13 °C. Humidity starts to increase from late March. Summer is very hot and the hot weather is often followed by heavy rain and thunderstorms.
The Macanese people are a mixed race of Portuguese and Chinese ancestry. Cooking in Macao is a blend of Cantonese and Portuguese cuisines which include minchi, capella, galinha a Portuguesa, galinha à Africana (African chicken), bacalhau, Macanese chili shrimps and stir-fry curry crab.
Macao has a well-established public transport network. Buses and taxis are the major means of transportation in the country. There are ferry terminals that provides transportation to people travelling across borders. The Macao international airport is the only international airport in the city.
There are several interesting places and tourist attractions in Macao. The most popular ones are;
- Macao Historic Centre: This is where you will see a blend of the European and Portuguese culture.
- Venetian Macao Casino: This is one of the biggest gambling centers in the world. It is the largest building in Asia. It records about 80,000 visitors. The country records about 32.6 million visitors and 6 million flight passengers annually. There are a variety of hotels and apartments to stay in when you visit.