You Thought You Knew MACAU

Mention Macau and the response is generally: “that’s the gambling place, isn’t it?”. Dubbed ‘The Vegas of China’, Macau is home to more than 41 casinos making it the biggest gaming centre in the world. And a skyline view shows more are being built, along with the prerequisite hotels and malls.

This place is certainly booming, and its economic prosperity does rest heavily on the roll of the dice. According to the New York Times, Macau “surpassed the Las Vegas Strip to become the world’s biggest gambling centre in 2006.” It is the only place in China where gambling is legal.

But gaming was not always its beating heart. Macau’s Chinese and Portuguese heritage and trading past means it’s home to many diverse cultures and cuisines.

Some of the earliest settlers in Macau were fisher people from the Guangdong province of China. Because of its location at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta it was a thriving port on the ancient Silk Road. It was known to the Chinese as OuMun (‘trading gate’) and A-Ma- Gao (‘place of A-Ma’) in honour of A-Ma, the Chinese goddess of sailors.