In which city of China is Portuguese the official language

On the coast of the South China Sea is perhaps the most unusual Chinese city. They pay here not in RMB, but in their own currency, and the legal and judicial systems that are different from the rest of China also operate. Along with skyscrapers and office centers, here you can find whole blocks of houses built in the European style, and the official language, along with Chinese, is Portuguese. Welcome to Macau!

The first Portuguese ships moored to the Chinese coast in 1513, but then they were not able to gain a foothold here for a long time. And only in 1553, Portuguese merchants were able to establish a trading city in Macau. A little later, the Portuguese managed to formally agree with the Chinese authorities. Merchants received the use of the territory of Macau in exchange for the payment of cash contributions and with mandatory rent.

Macau quickly grew and developed and soon became one of the most prosperous Portuguese colonies in Asia. Portuguese merchants and sailors actively traded with mainland China, the Philippines, Japan, and the regions of Southeast Asia. Missionaries arrived in Macau, however, their attempts to spread Catholicism among the Chinese population of the colony were unsuccessful. New territories leased from a neighboring province joined Macau, while the city itself remained part of China.

But everything changed in the 19th century. In 1842, the Chinese authorities decided to open their ports for trade. This greatly undermined the importance of Macau, which, along with British Hong Kong, was the center of Chinese trade with Europe. But by this time, China itself was in a quandary: after the defeat of the Qing Empire in the war with Great Britain, power in China and its international influence were greatly weakened.

Portugal hastened to take advantage of this, which in 1845 declared Macau a free territory. At the same time, representatives of the official Chinese authorities were expelled from the city, and the colony stopped paying rent payments.

Since then, relations between China and the Portuguese colony of Macau have reached a new level. The ongoing military clashes, uprisings of the Chinese population, endless negotiations and peace treaties, most of which have not been ratified by China. This tense situation continued until 1979, when China officially recognized Macau as Chinese territory under Portuguese control and established diplomatic relations with the colony.

From that moment, China took systematic steps to reunite Macau with the rest of the country. In 1999, the city was transferred to China under special conditions.

Modern Macau is a unique combination of East and West. And it’s not even a matter of bilingual street inscriptions, European architecture or special economic status. A huge number of Portuguese still live and work here, and mixed marriages are common among Macau residents. About 600,000 people live in the territory of the former Portuguese colony, of which about 230,000 live in the city of Macau (Macau), and the rest in the surrounding area.

Interestingly, the demographic situation in Macau is very different from mainland China: there is a very low birth rate and mortality. It is curious that this region ranks second in the world in terms of life expectancy, second only to Monaco. The average life expectancy of women in Macau is 87 years, men are slightly less - 81 years.

Economically, Macau also does not look like the average Chinese city. Here are located not only large trading corporations and financial centers. In Macau, there are more than 30 casinos and gambling houses that bring about 70% of the total revenue to the budget of the territory. In addition to the casino and the financial sector, the textile and tourism industries are also developed in Macau.