Pearl River Delta in China

12 March 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Casinos in Macao © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

Casinos in Macao © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. It is one of the most densely urbanized regions in the world, and is often considered a megacity. It is now the wealthiest region in South China and one of the wealthiest in the whole of China along with the Yangtze River Delta in East China and Jingjinji in North China. The region’s economy is referred to as Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. It is also part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.   read more…

Macao, Las Vegas of the East

18 December 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  19 minutes

Marina at Macau Fisherman's Wharf © Mfwmarketing/cc-by-sa-4.0

Marina at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf © Mfwmarketing/cc-by-sa-4.0

Macau, also spelled Macao and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, is a city and special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a population of about 650,000 and an area of 32.9 km² (12.7 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world. Macau is a former colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887, when it gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China. Macau is a special administrative region of China, which maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China under the principle of “one country, two systems“. Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands, the territory has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism, with a gambling industry seven times larger than that of Las Vegas. The territory is highly urbanised and most development is built on reclaimed land; two-thirds of the total land area is reclaimed from the sea.   read more…

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge in China

1 April 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, House of the Month Reading Time:  13 minutes

© Kellykaneshiro/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Kellykaneshiro/cc-by-sa-4.0

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 fixed link on earth. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai—three major cities on the Pearl River Delta. The HZMB was designed to last for 120 years and built with a cost of 126.9 billion yuan (US$ 18.77 billion). The cost of constructing the Main Bridge was estimated at 51.1 billion yuan (US$ 7.56 billion) funded by bank loans and shared among the governments of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Originally set to be opened to traffic in late 2016, the structure was completed on 6 February 2018< and journalists were subsequently given rides over the bridge. On 24 October 2018, the HZMB was opened to the public.   read more…

The Venetian Macao

13 April 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  5 minutes

© flickr.com - Dennis Wong/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Dennis Wong/cc-by-2.0

The Venetian Macao is a luxury hotel and casino resort in Macau owned by Las Vegas Sands. The Venetian is a 39-story, $2.4 billion anchor for the seven hotels on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The 10,500,000-square-foot (980,000 m2) Venetian Macao is modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Vegas, and is the seventh-largest building in the world by floor area. The Venetian Macao is also the largest casino in the world, and the largest single structure hotel building in Asia. The main hotel tower was finished in July 2007 and the resort officially opened on 28 August 2007. The resort has 3000 suites, 1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2) of convention space, 1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2) of retail, 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2) of casino space – with 3400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables and a 15,000 seat CotaiArena for entertainment and sports events.   read more…

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