Location & Area

Macau is located in the Guangdong province, on the western bank of the Pearl River Delta, at latitude 22o 14’ North, longitude 113o 35’ East and connected to the Gongbei District by the Border Gate (Portas do Cerco) isthmus.

The Macau Special Administrative Region has an area of 27.3 sq. km, comprised of the Macau Peninsula (with 8.7 sq. km and connected to Mainland China), the islands of Taipa (6.3 sq. km) and Coloane (7.6 sq. km and the reclaimed area COTAI (4.7 sq. km). The three bridges connecting Macau to Taipa are Nobre de Carvalho (2.5 km long), the Friendship Bridge (4.5 km long) and Sai Van Bridge (2.2 km long). The longest one (Friendship Bridge) leads directly to Macau International Airport located on the Island of Taipa. The Sai Van Bridge, which was opened on 9 January 2005, is the first cable-stayed bridge in Macau. The double deck bridge has six lanes in the upper deck and four in the lower, which will open when a typhoon hits the city. The islands are connected by a causeway which is 2.2 km long.

Besides the Barrier Gate (Portas do Cerco), the visitor can access Mainland China through the COTAI Frontier Post. Immigration and Customs are located in the reclaimed area between the islands of Taipa and Coloane.  

Time

06:15 a.m. : Rounded up at school
07:15 a.m. : Arrived in Departure Gate China Ferry Terminal Building
08:00 a.m. : Boarded the Ferry to Macau
10:00 a.m. : Arrived Macau
15:00 p.m. : Boarded the Ferry to Hong Kong
16:20 p.m. : Arrived Hong Kong
16:30 p.m. : Dismission

Population

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.

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.