Macau Special Administrative Region

Macau is a special administrative region of China just west of Shenzhen on the western side of the Pearl River estuary.

Macau was previously a colony of the Portuguese Empire after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. In 1887 Portugal was given perpetual occupation rights for Macau. It remained under Portuguese control until 1999, when it was returned to China. Because of its special administrative region status, Macau's system of government is separate from that of mainland China.

Macau only covers an area of 32.9 km2 (12.7 sq mi) but have a population of more than 653,000 which makes it the most densely populated region in the world.

It originally consisted of a collection of coastal islands, but most modern development is built on reclaimed land; two-thirds of the total land area is reclaimed from the sea.

Macau has become a major resort city and is a top destination for gambling tourism. It is the ninth-highest recipient of tourism revenue and its gaming industry is seven times larger than that of Las Vegas.

We visited Macau, not for its gambling attraction, but rather to photograph its interesting architecture.

And some sunset cityscapes...