Last updated Geographical schematic diagram of Hong Kong, Macau, and the Pearl River Delta.The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge that connects the three cities of Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai.
Hong Kong and Macao[a], or the Hong Kong and Macao region[b], is the collective term for Hong Kong and Macao. It is also a term used by the governments of both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. The two regions are 63 kilometers apart, separated by the mouth of the Pearl River, and both are part of the traditional Guangdong region and the Lingnan cultural area, using Cantonese and Traditional Chinese. In addition to their geographical proximity and similar historical and cultural backgrounds, both regions were once colonies of Western powers in China, have implemented market economies, and are meeting points of Western and Chinese cultures. Today, both are under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy and are often discussed in conjunction.
Hong Kong and Macau are geographically part of the traditional domain of Guangdong Province in China, commonly referred to together with the provincial capital Guangzhou as "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau" or "Province-Hong Kong-Macau." Since modern times, Hong Kong and Macau became territories of the British Empire and the Portuguese Empire, respectively. Following the "Sino-British Joint Declaration" and the "Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration" in the 1980s, the sovereignty of Hong Kong and Macau was transferred to the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997, and December 20, 1999, respectively, and were established as special administrative regions equivalent to provincial level. The handover of sovereignty of these two regions also symbolized the end of Western colonial presence in China.
Although Hong Kong and Macau are geographically and culturally similar, there are comparative differences in area, population, and economic scale between the two, and their systems and residents' lifestyles differ. In international languages such as English, there are fewer common abbreviations like "Hong Kong-Macau." Media within Hong Kong generally use the term "Two Sides, Four Places" to denote its official representation. Hong Kong is adjacent to Shenzhen, and Macau is adjacent to Zhuhai; the two regions are not connected by land and are linked by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge across the mouth of the Pearl River.
Under the rule of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau implement "One Country, Two Systems", practicing a capitalist social system different from mainland China's socialist system. They independently exercise judicial jurisdiction, border control, and other powers, maintaining a degree of political status equivalent to that of territories. The Chinese government often refers to Hong Kong and Macau together with Taiwan, which it claims, as the "Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau region." Compared to mainland China, residents of these three areas have a special status under the laws of the People's Republic of China. People from the Hong Kong and Macau regions also have a special status under the laws of the Republic of China, and in some contexts, they are referred to together with mainland China as "Mainland-Hong Kong-Macau" or "China-Hong Kong-Macau".[1][2] Most foreign official institutions in Hong Kong and Macau also include each other in their scope of operations, such as the Portuguese Consulate in Macau, which includes Hong Kong in its diplomatic responsibilities. Due to close exchanges between Hong Kong and Macau, and Macau's culture being deeply influenced by Hong Kong, cultural differences are minimal. Macau Cantonese is influenced by Hong Kong Cantonese, approximating the Hong Kong accent, and some Hong Kong-specific terms, such as pro-establishment and pan-democratic terms from Hong Kong's political jargon, also influence Macau's media usage.
Hong Kong is located on the coast of the South China Sea, to the east of the Pearl River Estuary, and comprises three main areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories (including 264 islands), covering a total area of 2,754.8 square kilometers. To the north, it borders Shenzhen, and faces Macau across the sea to the west. To the northwest, it faces Zhuhai Jiuzhou.
Hong Kong is an internationally significant financial, service, and shipping center, known for its clean government, good public security, free economic system, and comprehensive legal system. It consistently ranks among the top global financial centers, only trailing behind London and New York.
From 1994 to 2019, Hong Kong was continuously rated as the world's freest economy and ranked first in the global index of economic freedom.[3]
Hong Kong is also one of the safest, wealthiest, most prosperous cities with a high standard of living in the world, known as the "Pearl of the Orient", and a "food and shopping paradise".
The headquarters of the Hong Kong government is located at 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Admiralty, Central and Western District, Hong Kong Island. The administrative, legislative, and judicial bodies use Traditional Chinese, English, and Simplified Chinese, with English and Simplified Chinese also recognized as official languages.[4] The legal system is based on common law, and the city's flower is the Bauhinia.
As of August 2017, Hong Kong's total population was 7,389,500, with men having an average lifespan of 84 years (the longest in the world), and women reaching an average lifespan of 90.4 years (also the longest in the world). The majority of residents are Chinese, accounting for 91.6% of the total population. Most Chinese residents, apart from local indigenous peoples (such as the Punti, Hakka, Tanka, and Hoklo), come predominantly from Guangdong Province, with a smaller number from Fujian Province and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Other ethnic groups include Europeans, Americans, Thais, Indonesians, Filipinos, and South Asians.
The currency in circulation in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar. Hong Kong's GDP was USD 307.065 billion (ranked 38th according to 2009 IMF data), with a GDP per capita of USD 43,862 (ranked 8th according to 2009 IMF data), and foreign exchange reserves of USD 261.4 billion (as of the end of August 2010).
Macao is located along the coast of the South China Sea, to the west of the Pearl River Estuary. Its territory consists of four main areas: the Macau Peninsula, Taipa, Coloane, and Cotai, totaling 33 square kilometers of land area and 85 square kilometers of sea area as of 2020. The Macau Peninsula is connected to mainland China in the north, while Taipa and Coloane were originally two separate islands, which were later joined by land reclamation projects into what is now called Cotai.
Macau's gambling industry is highly developed, with over 30 casinos throughout the region. The total turnover of the casinos has surpassed that of Las Vegas, making it the number one gambling city in the world. Since the legalization of the gambling industry, Macau has been known worldwide as the "Monte Carlo of the East." The prosperity of the gambling industry has driven a continuous rise in GDP per capita, surpassing Hong Kong since 2013 and becoming the wealthiest region among the three across the Taiwan Strait.
The Macau government headquarters is located on Avenida da Praia Grande on the Macau Peninsula. The administrative, legislative, and judicial bodies use Traditional Chinese, and Portuguese, English, and Simplified Chinese are also official languages,[5] with English also being widely accepted. The legal system is based on civil law, the city flower is Mimusops elengi, and the regional flower is the lotus.
As of June 2017, Macau's total population was 648,300. The majority are Chinese, predominantly from the Guangfu people of Guangdong Province, as well as from the Hokkien region of Fujian and other areas of China, accounting for 94% of the total population. Macanese make up 6% of the population along with other foreign nationals.
The currency in circulation in Macau is the Macanese pataca, which is pegged to the Hong Kong dollar (HKD 1: MOP 1.03). The Hong Kong dollar is also widely used in Macau, especially in large transactions such as real estate and car purchases, and most notably in Macau’s casinos, where it is commonly used for settlements. However, Macau government departments use the Macau pataca for settlements. Macau's GDP was 443.3 billion Macau patacas for the year 2014 (ranking 77th globally), with a GDP per capita of USD 89,333 (ranking 4th globally in 2014), and foreign exchange reserves of 156.2 billion Macau patacas as of March 2010.
Within the territories controlled by the People's Republic of China, the "One Country, Two Systems" policy is implemented only in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Therefore, official Chinese sources and media often use the term "Hong Kong and Macau Region" to broadly refer to these two areas, as seen in contexts like "Hong Kong and Macau Region entry and exit policies," "Cross-Strait and Hong Kong-Macau Region Educational and Academic Symposium," and "Application and Approval Form for Chinese Citizens Traveling to the Hong Kong and Macau Region." The documents issued by the government for residents of Hong Kong and Macau to travel between these areas are called the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macau Residents.
The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) often uses terms such as "Hong Kong and Macau Region" and "Mainland Region" to make distinctions. Locals are referred to as Hong Kong residents, Macau residents, distinctly from the citizens of the Republic of China (residents of the Taiwan area) or the people of Mainland China. Contrary to the official terminology, people commonly refer to them simply as "Hong Kong people" and "Macao people."
The "Hong Kong and Macau Relations Act" of the Republic of China's law pertains to Hong Kong from the date of its handover on July 1, 1997, and to Macau from its handover on December 20, 1999. Article 1 of the Act states: "The 'Act Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area' does not apply, except as explicitly provided in this Act." The definition of Hong Kong and Macau in Article 2 refers to the areas governed by the United Kingdom (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories, and their subsidiaries) and those governed by Portugal (Macau Peninsula, Taipa, Coloane, Cotai, and their subsidiaries). This is because the government of the Republic of China legally does not recognize the government of the People's Republic of China, thus the Act contains no references to the "People's Republic of China" or "Special Administrative Regions," but refers to them indirectly.
The postal institution of the Republic of China, Chunghwa Post, handles mail delivery separately by region, including international mail to and from Hong Kong and Macau, which is treated differently from mail to and from Mainland China, which is neither considered domestic nor international.
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Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. With a population of about 710,000 people and a land area of 32.9 km2 (12.7 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world.
Transport in Macau includes road, sea, rail and air transport. Road transport is the primary mode of transport within Macau, although a new rail system opened in December 2019 serving the areas of Taipa and Cotai. The main forms of public transport are buses and taxis.
The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, the region is one of the most densely populated and urbanized regions in the world, and is considered a megacity by numerous scholars. It is currently the wealthiest region in Southern China and one of the wealthiest regions in China along with the Yangtze River Delta in Eastern China and Jingjinji in Northern China. Most of the region is part of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, which is a special economic zone of China.
The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link in the world. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong and Macau with Zhuhai— a major city on the Pearl River Delta in China.
Taipa is an area in Macau, connected to Coloane through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Located on the northern half of the island, Taipa's population is mostly suburban. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo are mostly coterminous with that of the former Taipa Island, except for a portion of the parish that lies on the island of Hengqin (Montanha), housing the campus of the University of Macau.
Coloane is the southernmost area in Macau, connected to Taipa through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Known as “Lou Wan” in Cantonese, Coloane forms the southern part of Macau. Its population consists of several settlements dotted around the parish, such as Vila de Coloane, Hac Sa, Ká-Hó, and Cheoc Van. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish of São Francisco Xavier are coterminous with that of Coloane.
Tourism is a major industry in Macau. It is famous for the blend of Portuguese and Chinese cultures and its gambling industry, which includes Casino Lisboa, Macau, Sands Macau, The Venetian Macao, and Wynn Macau.
Cotai is a 5.2-square-kilometer (2.0 sq mi) piece of reclaimed land on the top of the Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau that has connected two independent islands since 2005. The name, which is a portmanteau of Coloane and Taipa, can also refer to the island formed by the reclamation. In the second sense, the Special Administrative Region of Macau now consists of the Macau Peninsula, plus Cotai Island, about a mile to the south.
The Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal is a ferry terminal and heliport, centrally located in Hong Kong. It is also known as the Macau Ferry Terminal, the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier or the Shun Tak Heliport, and has an ICAO code of VHST.
Articles related to Macau include:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Macau:
Cotai Water Jet is a company that operates high-speed ferry services between Macau and Hong Kong. It is one of the two companies operating high-speed ferry services between the two territories – the other one being TurboJET.
The Taipa Ferry Terminal is located in Taipa, Macau SAR. It is located in the reclamation area of Pac On and is adjacent to the Macau International Airport. The terminal provides high-speed passenger ferry services from Macau to Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Dongguan.
Skypier Terminal is a cross-border facility that includes a ferry pier and a coach bay integrated within Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is operated by Hong Kong International Airport Ferry Terminal Services Limited, a joint-venture company between Chu Kong Passenger Transport Co., Ltd and Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management Limited. At this building, passengers aboard can transit from Hong Kong International Airport to piers in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province or vice versa, without immigration and customs clearance through Hong Kong. Passengers can also transit to Macao through coaches or vice versa, without immigration and customs clearance through Hong Kong.
Wanzai, Small Hengqin and Great Hengqin are three islands located to the west of the Macau Peninsula and the Macau islands of Taipa and Coloane that were under Portuguese influence. They were inhabited by a very small Chinese population in its early history.
Inland China or simply Inland is a political and legal term used in the People's Republic of China. It refers to the areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, excluding the regions of Hong Kong and Macao. This term is often used in contexts where the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau are mentioned, and in some cases, it is synonymous with "Mainland China". Nevertheless, in Taiwan, "Mainland China" is also often used to refer to all territories administered by the People's Republic of China including Hong Kong and Macao.
The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, commonly as the Greater Bay Area (GBA), is a megalopolis, consisting of nine cities and two special administrative regions in South China. It is envisioned by Chinese government planners as an integrated economic area aimed at taking a leading role globally by 2035.
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, also known as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan is the collective term used by the People's Republic of China for its two special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macao, as well as the Taiwan region, which is claimed as sovereign territory by the PRC but is actually governed by the government of the Republic of China. These areas are also referred to as the "three regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau." The permanent residents of these three regions are known as "compatriots of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan" or "residents of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan," and are considered by the government of the People's Republic of China as part of the broader Chinese nationality. All three regions apply the "One Country, Two Systems" policy and have significant differences from Mainland China, possessing special status under the laws of the People's Republic of China.
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