Hotels in Macau

Hotels in Macau

Hotels in the city of Macau are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to visit the city to see the culture, history, sports and tourist attractions of the city. Some may want to stay at large hotels or small hotels. Some may want to stay at a cheap or luxury hotels. Some may want to stay at a hotels that have high status and good reputation.

Hotels in the city of Macau are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to stay in a hotel in the city or near the city.

Macau was both the first and the last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on December 20, 1999.

Macau is situated 60 kilometres southwest of Hong Kong and 145 kilometres from Guangzhou. It consists of the Macau Peninsula itself and the islands of Taipa and Coloane. The peninsula is formed by the Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xijiang (West River) on the west. It borders the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in mainland China. The main border crossing between Macau and China is known as the Portas do Cerco (Barrier Gate) on the Macau side, and the Gongbei checkpoint on the Zhuhai side. Macau Peninsula was originally an island, but a connecting sandbar gradually turned into a narrow isthmus, thus changing Macau into a peninsula. Land reclamation in the 17th century transformed Macau into a peninsula with generally flat terrain, though numerous steep hills still mark the original land mass. Alto de Coloane is the highest point in Macau, with an altitude of 170.6 metres. With a dense urban environment, Macau has no arable land, pastures, forest, or woodland.

The recorded history of Macau can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC), when the region now called Macau came under the jurisdiction of Panyu County, Nanhai Prefecture of the province of Guangdong. The first recorded inhabitants of the area were people seeking refuge in Macau from invading Mongols, during the Southern Song Dynasty. Later in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), fishermen migrated to Macau from various parts of Guangdong and Fujian provinces. However, Macau did not develop as a major settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century. In 1535, the Portuguese traders obtained the rights to anchor ships in Macau's harbours and the right to carry out trading activities, though not the right to stay onshore. Around 1552–1553, they obtained a temporary permission to erect storage sheds onshore, in order to dry out goods drenched by sea water. They later built some rudimentary stone-houses around the area now called Nam Van. In 1557, the Portuguese established a permanent settlement in Macau, at an annual rent of 500 taels of silver.

As more Portuguese settled in Macau to engage in trading activities, there were demands for self-administration, but this was not achieved until the 1840s. In 1576, Macau was established as an episcopal see by Pope Gregory XIII. In 1583, the Portuguese in Macau were permitted to form a Senate to handle various issues concerning their social and economic affairs under strict supervision of the Chinese authority, but there was no transfer of sovereignty. Macau prospered as a port but was the target of repeated failed attempts by the Dutch to conquer it in the 17th century. Following the Opium War (1839–42), Portugal occupied Taipa and Coloane in 1851 and 1864 respectively. In 1887, the Qing government was forced to sign the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Amity and Commerce, under which China ceded to Portugal the right of "perpetual occupation and government of Macau"; conversely, Portugal pledged to seek China's approval before transferring Macau to another country. Macau officially became a Portuguese colony.

After the Qing Dynasty was overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution, in 1928 the Kuomintang (KMT) government officially notified Portugal that it was abrogating the former treaty,[21] and in its place the Sino-Portuguese Friendship and Trade Treaty was signed. Making only a few provisions concerning tariff principles and matters relating to business affairs, the treaty failed to mention the question with regard to the sovereignty of Macau. Consequently, the situation of Portuguese occupation and government of Macau remained unchanged. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Beijing government declared the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Amity and Commerce to be invalid as an “unequal treaty” imposed by foreigners on China. However, Beijing was not ready to settle the treaty question, leaving the maintenance of “the status quo” until a more appropriate time.
Macau, ca. 1870

In 1966, with the general dissatisfaction of the Portuguese government and under the influence of the Cultural Revolution in mainland China, more serious riots broke out in Macau. The most serious one is the so-called 12-3 incident that resulted in more than 200 people killed or injured. On January 28, 1967 the Portuguese government signed a statement of apology. This marked the beginning of equal treatment and recognition of Chinese identity and of de facto Chinese control of the colony, as an official apology underlined the fact that after 1949, administration of Macau continued only at the behest of the mainland communist government.

Shortly after the leftist military coup of 1974 in Lisbon, the newly assigned government of Portugal was determined to relinquish all its overseas possessions. In 1976, Lisbon redefined Macau as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration," and granted it a large measure of administrative, financial and economic autonomy. Portugal and China agreed in 1979 to regard Macau as "a Chinese territory under (temporary) Portuguese administration". Negotiations between the Chinese and Portuguese governments on the question of Macau started in June 1986. In 1987, an international treaty, known as the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, was signed to make Macau a special administrative region (SAR) of China. The Chinese government assumed sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999.