| What is special or unique about your city? |
| Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China since 20 December 1999, and like Hong Kong, benefits from the principle of ‘one country, two systems’. The tiny SAR is growing in size - with more buildings on reclaimed land - and in the number and diversity of its attractions. The greatest of these continues to be Macau’s unique society, with communities from the East and West complementing each other, and the many people who come to visit. |
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| What are a newcomer's first impressions of your city? |
| Macau has built up a world class tourist industry with a wide choice of hotels, resorts, sports facilities, restaurants and casinos. |
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| Are these impressions likely to change? |
| As Macau has long been catering to the gambling and resort industries, increasingly more and more well-developed world-class hotels and resorts will be established, and you would notice the city becoming more westernized. |
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| What is the local language? |
| Chinese and Portuguese are the official languages, Cantonese being most widely spoken. The official languages are used in government departments in all official documents and communications. English is generally used in trade, tourism and commerce. |
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| How easily could I live in this city without knowing this language? |
| English and Mandarin are also generally used. Occasionally, there are part-time training courses for languages for new residents. |
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| What are good things to remember in order to avoid offending the other residents of this city? |
| Macau is one of the most densely populated regions and is among the cities with the highest level of population congestion in the world. Therefore, personal space is not as 'wide' as most westerners are used to. |
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| How might the local weather affect my daily life? |
The only bad weather which affects daily life is the thunderstorm and tropical cyclones which occur frequently during the summer season.
The most comfortable period begins from the middle of October to December. In winter, the urban temperature sometimes drops below 10° C. Therefore, the annual minimum temperature is generally recorded in these two months. In Spring, besides some occasional wet weather, fog, drizzle and low visibility days, the weather is mainly fine. |
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| Is there anything else I should know about the overall character of your city or its people? |
| The total population is around 461,000 residents, about 95% are ethnic Chinese, from different provinces, namely Guangdong and Fujian. The remaining 5% includes Portuguese, Europeans and other regions. |
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| Useful Links |
Government Official Site of Macau (includes different departments of the Macau Government): http://www.gov.mo
Macau Government Tourist Office: http://www.macautourism.gov.mo |