Macau Peninsula
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The Macau Peninsula is the historical and most populous part of
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. It has an area of () and is geographically connected to
Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
at the northeast through an
isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...
wide. The
peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
, together with downtown
Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...
, sits on an
island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
separated from the continent by
distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurca ...
of the
Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...
. The Border Gate (; ) was built on the northern isthmus. At the south, the peninsula is connected to
Taipa Island Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; , ) is an area in Macau, connected to Coloane through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Located on the northern half of the island, Taipa's population is mostly suburban. Administrati ...
by three bridges, the Friendship Bridge (''Ponte da Amizade''); the Macau-Taipa Bridge (''Ponte Governador Nobre de Carvalho''); and the Sai Van Bridge (''Ponte de Sai Van''). The longest axis extends from the Border Gate to the southwestern edge, Barra (媽閣嘴). There is a western "Inner Harbor" (內港) paralleled by an "Outer Harbor" (外港) to the east. The Guia Hill (松山) is the highest point on the peninsula, which has an average elevation of . Many coastal places are reclaimed from the sea. The Historic Centre of Macau, which is entirely on the Macau Peninsula, became a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 2005.


Early history

In 1514, Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares arrived at Tunmen in the Pearl River Delta. Álvares likely traveled on Malaccan or Chinese ships and returned with profitable cargo. A Portuguese settlement was started at Tamão and by 1535 the traders were allowed to anchor their ships in the Macau harbour. In 1887, the
Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking The Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking was a trade unequal treaty between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Qing China, signed on 1 December 1887. It is counted by the Chinese as among the unequal treaties in the aftermath of the Second Opium War. ...
was signed, allowing "the perpetual occupation and government of Macau by Portugal". According to ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'', "Macau may never have existed if not for Tamão" where the Portuguese learned "how China, the Pearl River Delta, and the South China Sea worked". The settlement and Jorge Álvares "kickstarted a chain of events that ultimately spawned Macau". A large stone sculpture of Álvares still stands in downtown Macau. 


Freguesias

The peninsula corresponds to the historical Municipality of Macau, one of Macau's two municipalities that were abolished on 31 December 2001 by Law No. 17/2001, following the 1999 transfer of sovereignty over Macau from Portugal to China. This municipality was divided into five
parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
(freguesia), and while their administrative functions have since been voided, these parishes are still retained nominally.


See also

*
Coloane Coloane ( Chinese: 路環, Portuguese: ''Coloane'') is the southernmost area in Macau, connected to Taipa through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Known as “''Lou Wan''” in Cantonese, Coloane forms the sou ...
*
Cotai Cotai ( zh, t=路氹城, cy=Louhtáhm Sìhng; ) is a piece of land reclamation, reclaimed land on the top of the Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau that has connected two independent islands since 2005. The name, which is ...
* Friendship Bridge * Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge *
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
* Sai Van Bridge *
Taipa Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; , ) is an area in Macau, connected to Coloane through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Located on the northern half of the island, Taipa's population is mostly suburban. Administrativ ...


References


External links


Satellite image of the Macau Peninsula by Google Maps

Macau Peninsula photo gallery
{{Macau Freguesias Peninsulas of China