Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [245]
October/November
Macau International Music Festival (www.icm.gov.mo) This two-week festival is a heady mix of opera, musicals, visiting orchestras and other musical events.
Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix (www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo) Around 30 national championship drivers compete to take the chequered flag in Macau’s premier sporting event. The Grand Prix is held in the third week of November.
December
Macau International Marathon (www.sport.gov.mo) Like its Hong Kong counterpart, this event, which takes place on the first Sunday in December, also includes a half-marathon.
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Macau has some light industries, such as textile, garment, toy and fireworks production, but factories have slowed down and many companies have moved across the border. Unemployment in Macau is currently around 3.3%.
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
The executive branch of the Macau SAR government is led by the chief executive, who is chosen by an electoral college made up of 200 local representatives. Fernando Tsui, the sole candidate for Macau’s second chief executive, was ‘elected’ to a five-year term of office in 2009.
The Legislative Assembly, which sits in its own purpose-built assembly hall on reclaimed land in the Nam Van Lakes area, now perman-ently consists of 29 members, 12 of whom are directly elected in geographical constituencies, 10 chosen by interest groups and seven appointed by the chief executive.
Like Hong Kong, Macau has primary courts, intermediate courts and a Court of Final Appeal.
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NEIGHBOURHOODS
Tiny Macau is amazingly packed with many important cultural and historical sights, including eight squares and 22 historic buildings that have collectively been named the Historic Centre of Macau World Heritage Site by Unesco. The best way to see the city and to feel its uniqueness is to stroll in the narrow alleys and squares. Pick up the excellent series of pamphlets produced by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO; Click here) before you set off.
Macau is divided into three main sections: the Macau Peninsula, which is attached to mainland China to the north; the middle island of Taipa, directly south of the peninsula and linked to it by the 2.5km-long Ponte Governador Nobre de Carvalho (Macau–Taipa Bridge), the 4.5km-long Ponte da Amizade (Friendship Bridge) and the 2.2km-long covered, typhoon-proof Sai Van Bridge; and Coloane Island, which is south of Taipa and connected to it by Cotai, a recent massive land-reclamation project.
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ORGANISED TOURS
Tours booked on the ground in Macau are generally much better value than those booked in Hong Kong, though the latter include transportation to and from Macau. Tours from Hong Kong are usually one-day whirlwind tours, departing for Macau in the morning and returning to Hong Kong on the same evening. Gray Line ( in Hong Kong 01-2368 7111; www.grayline.com.hk) offers such a tour for HK$690/720 on weekdays/weekends.
Quality Tours organised by the MGTO and tendered to agents such as Gray Line ( Map; 2833 6611; Rua do Campo; adult/child under 10yr incl admission to museum & Macau Tower MOP$350/300; 9.30am-6.30pm Mon-Sat) take around 6½ hours.
The Tour Machine, run by Avis Rent A Car ( Map; 2833 6789; www.avis.com.mo; Room 1022, Ground fl, Macau ferry terminal; adult/child under 12yr MOP$150/80; 8am-7pm), is a replica 1920s-style English bus that seats nine people and runs on fixed routes in about two hours past some of Macau’s most important sights. You’re allowed to disembark, stretch your legs and take photos along the way. There are two depart-ures a day (11am and 3pm) from the Macau ferry terminal.
MACAU PENINSULA
Cotai Strip Travel ( Map; 8118 2930; www.venetianmacao.com; Shop 1028, Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, Estrada da Baía de Nossa Senhora da Esperança; adult/child under 11yr/infant MOP$250/200/free; 9am-9pm) runs a daily tour to Taipa and Coloane Villages that begins at 9.15am