![]() ![]() The 19th-century fantan stalls, not to mention the smoke-filled opium dens that contributed to Macao’s reputation as the Casablanca of the South China Seas, have long given way to glittering casino towers, but Portugal’s historic and cultural legacy runs far deeper. From the 16th-century, mainland Chinese workers brought their culture of gaming to the Portuguese colony and in 1847, lucrative taxes in mind, the government legalised gambling. They alone – mainly in Cotai and Taipa (near the crossing to Cotai) – are a light-filled wonderland of discovery but, as I am soon to learn, there is much more to this peninsula and its two connected islands. The little I know about Macao, so far, involves its high-rise casinos and five-star resorts. Like Hong Kong, Macao is a Special Administrative Region of China and the mainland is so close at points, I feel I could wade across. ![]() And the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge – the world’s longest sea bridge which opened recently – extends on pylon legs across the wide Pearl River Estuary, edging my vision as I cross. Macao International Airport in Taipa connects with several Asian destinations. There are other means of ingress to this intriguing city. Shape-shifting Grand Lisboa, at times a razor-edged lotus blossom, now raises its dragon’s head above the low-rise waterfront. Strung along the horizon, red, silver and gold-mirrored towers stand angled, frieze-like against the clouds. I’ve taken the TurboJet Ferry, a 70-minute express trip west from Hong Kong International Airport, and I feel like a water creature chancing on a mythic land. I’m skimming across the waters of the pearl River Delta, a Macao innocent. ![]()
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