Brief history of Macao


The historical center of Macao was added as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity to the lists of the Unesco in 2005, highlighting its strategic and cultural importance through the centuries. The mix of Portuguese colonial architecture sits alongside the most striking style of East Asian art.

If you decide to visit Macao during your holidays remember that its offer is quite rural. You will be able to visit and enjoy the most classic ancient Chinese villages and the forests with hills full of pine trees. Much of its history is preserved in its islands, Taipa and Coloane. There you can visit the shipyards where they build their fishing boats, their immense colonial mansions, their temples Chinese and floating fishing communities.


However, Macao is now becoming more famous for the inauguration of its casino in true Las Vegas style that attracts a lot of visitors. Macao was founded in 1557 during the great era of Portuguese exploration by sea. He became the main port between the Far East and Europe and, in 1670, it was confirmed as a possession of the Chinese people and of Portugal. Macao went into decline as a regional trade center at the turn of the century XIX, when the English occupied Hong Kong.


In 1999, Macao, like Hong Kong, became a "Special Administrative Region" within China, which operates as a country with two political systems. It is capable of maintaining its total independence in social and economic matters. It has its own currency: the pataca.

[China] Macau - a brief history (March 2024)


  • Macao
  • 1,230