Macau

Macau also known as Macao is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. It is ranked first in the world for life expectancy. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea in the east and south. The territory features industries such as textiles and toys, as well as a notable tourist and gambling sector.

Macau was a Portuguese colony and both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer.

A long and narrow road at the foot of the Ruins of St. Paul is packed with tourists and shops. The facade wall of the famous cathedral were officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2005.
The Ruins of St. Paul in Macau is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a 17th century Portuguese cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle. Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, the cathedral was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time, and the royalty of Europe vied with each other to bestow upon the cathedral the best gifts. With the decline in importance of Macau, which was overtaken as the main port for the Pearl River Delta by Hong Kong, the cathedral's fortunes similarly ebbed, and it was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. Today, the ruins is one of Macau's most famous landmarks.