Macau, China: Las Vegas Blends with Chinese and Portuguese History and Culture

The modernity and scale of China's cities always amaze me.  In the States, we see and hear so little of the tremendous advances that China has made in the past 25-30 years that witnessing their growth in person can be shocking.  This is even true in the small island city of Macau (a small peninsula off the coast of Guangdong province).  First of all, the term "small" is relative.  Macau has a "small" population in Chinese terms and its land mass is not very large (Manhattan is more than 4 times larger than Macau) but a LOT of people live there.  Macau has somewhere between 600,000 - 700,000 inhabitants making it one of the most densely populated areas in China (no small feat).  Portuguese traders "discovered" Macau in 1550 and they loved it so much that Portugal "rented" Macau from China beginning in 1557.  That relationship remained intact until 1887 when Portugal colonized Macau.  Sovereignty over Macau was not returned to China until 1999 and Macau has functioned as one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China since that time (Hong Kong is the other one).

Examples of Portugal's presence abound in Macau.  Many of the buildings were constructed using Portuguese architectural styles and their mosaic tiles exist everywhere.  Although Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) is the main language Portuguese can be heard and seen throughout the city.  Portuguese restaurants and foods are prevalent everywhere ESPECIALLY its famous, and delicious, egg tarts:

These things are so AMAZING that I'll dedicate an entire post to them in the future.  Be on the lookout for that!

Despite all of the wonderful architecture, culture and food, Macau is likely best known for its casinos.  It has rapidly become known as the Las Vegas of the East.  The many casinos that are owned and operated by the Chinese government are joined by casinos opened (starting in 2004) by Las Vegas operators such as Wynn, the MGM Grand, The Sands, the Venetian, and many others.  These casinos in Macau dwarf their American counterparts in Vegas.  For example, at the time of its opening in 2007, the Venetian Macau was the second largest building in the world based on floor space (it is currently remains in the top ten).  Here are some pics from the Venetian:

  

The Venetian functions exactly as it does in Vegas but since EVERY tourist in the hotel is Chinese, the "feel" is interestingly different.  Having visited the Vegas Venetian previously, the juxtaposition of the Italian structures, gondolas, music, and canals with the fully Chinese population is wonderful!  Check it out:

The MGM Grand does not take a back seat to the Venetian in grandeur and style.  Check out these shots from inside its Grand Hall:

 
The Hotel Lisboa (where we stayed) and the Grand Lisboa Hotel are also amazing places that you should definitely consider when looking at hotels in Macau.  I'll cover them in more detail in a future post.

Have a great day!  Power to the Purple!