CULTURE
The
name "Macau", is derived from the name of a Chinese
goddess, popular with seafarers and fishermen, known as A-Ma or
Ling Ma.
According
to legend, a junk sailing across the South China Sea one clear
day found itself in a sudden storm. Everybody on board was about
to give up all hope of surviving this natural calamity, when an
attractive young woman, who had boarded the ship at the very last
minute, stood up and ordered the elements to calm down. Miraculously,
the gale winds stopped blowing and the sea became calm. Without
further incident, the junk arrived safely at the port of Hoi Keang.
The
young woman stepped ashore and walked to the crest of the nearby
Barra Hill where, in a glowing halo of light and perfume, she
ascended into heaven. On the particular spot where she set foot
on land, a temple was built in homage to her.
In
the 16th century, when Portuguese sailors landed and asked the
name of the place, the natives replied A-Ma-Gao (Bay of A-Ma).
So the peninsula was renamed. In modern usage, Amagao was shortened
to Macau.
However,
Macau has always displayed an atmosphere which made it different
from the surrounding areas. Today it is still this mixture of
the Chinese and Portuguese cultures harmoniously maintained and
developed by its people that makes this place a specific cultural
entity.
Macau
is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of
China since 20 December 1999 and will maintain its social and
economical characteristics in accordance to the principle of "one
country, two systems".
Macau
of tiny dimensions possesses the highest population rate in the
world but the per capita income is one of the highest in Asia.
There is a cosmopolitan atmosphere, tolerant in practices and
living experiences, where, as always, Asia meets Europe and where
the Mediterranean cultures live side by side with the Chinese
one.
[Source: Macau
Government Tourist Office]
