Pope Benedict XVI was in Macau

Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, visited Macau in 1993. Photo from Ponto Final Macau.

Macau - paradise for shoppers, hikers and diners

When Steven Spielberg sought a location to shoot the 1930s Shanghai scenes for 1984's Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, the blockbuster's production team headed for Macau, just across the Pearl River Estuary from Hong Kong. Sightseeing in this historically fascinating corner of China is easy and rewarding. The leading draw, the Ruins of St Paul's, is an icon of Macau's East-meets-West history Lou Lim Ieoc is a fascinating Chinese garden which was created during the 19th Century by a wealthy local merchant. It's a beguiling oasis of bamboo groves, flowering bushes and carp ponds. The best of the local cuisine combines elements of Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, African and South American (from other ex-Portuguese colonies), and other exotic food cultures touched by Lisbon's vast old empire. more

CEPA between China and Taiwan

Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to propose a Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with Taiwan as a gift when meeting with Lien Chan, chairman of the island's opposition Kuomintang party, in Beijing tomorrow, the United Daily News reported. China already has CEPA deals with Hong Kong and Macau, awarding them zero-tariffs and investment privileges.

Greek Mythology Group to take over the cross-boundary ferry terminal from Tuen Mun, Hong Kong

The Hong Kong government has approved plans by the Greek Mythology (Macau) Entertainment Group to take over the rights to renovate and operate the cross-boundary ferry terminal from Tuen Mun, thus providing a third alternative ferry service for Macau-bound gamblers." Greek Mythology's Macau service will compete with the hydrofoil line between Hong Kong island and Macau controlled by the Ho family and a line between Tsim Sha Tsui and Macau controlled by tycoon Cheng Yu-tung. The operator took over the franchise with an eye toward ferrying mainland gamblers to Macau via Tuen Mun. North West Express originally planned to sail to Macau every half hour between 11am and 2am to a planned ferry terminal on Taipa island in Macau. The Greek Mythology Casino is located in the New Century Hotel on Taipa, but the company intends to build a second casino elsewhere in Macau. Businessman Ng Man-sun is the majority owner of Greek Mythology, of which Hong Kong-listed A-Max Holdings controls a 16 percent interest. more

Macau Sunset

DSC03826
Originally uploaded by zafe.

Sun setting over the hills of Zhuhai, China. View into the inner harbour. One of the most dense part of the city.

Life in Macau SAR China

Life in Macau SAR China
Originally uploaded by antz8888.

East meets West.
Now they have a cute kid.

MGM Mirage venture to build 975 million dollar hotel-casino in Macau

US gaming giant MGM Mirage said the Macau government has approved its joint venture with a daughter of Asian gaming tycoon Stanley Ho to open a major hotel-casino resort there. Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage said in a statement that its 50:50 partnership with Pansy Ho Chiu-king will jointly develop and operate a resort which will cost 975 million US dollars. The resort, to be called MGM Grand Macau, will be built on a prime waterfront site destined to become the former Portuguese colony's casino 'Strip'. It will have 600 rooms, suites and villas, a casino including 300 table games and 1,000 slot machines, several restaurants and entertainment facilities, MGM said. It will also have 50,000 square feet available for future expansion. Construction will begin in the second quarter of 2005 and the resort is scheduled to open in 2007. more

A Macau resident performing traditional Tai Chi

A Macau resident performing traditional Tai Chi exercises in Macau's Lou Lim Ieoc garden. The Jardim Arte gardens opposite the Landmark Hotel in downtown Macau have been demolished to make way for a 33-story casino(AFP/LUSA/File)"

Air Macau to share its key to the city - Business

Air Macau, the only carrier operating from the former Portuguese colony, plans to end its monopoly by sharing traffic rights with airlines that want to start flights from the city. Air Macau has government permission to talk to carriers that want to start up in the city, said Simon Chan, acting president of Macau's Civil Aviation Authority, in an interview at an aviation conference here yesterday. 'As to how Air Macau will co-operate with them, that's outside the Government's control,' Mr Chan said. Air Macau could set up a joint venture with other companies or share its rights, he said. Air Macau, which was given a 25-year, exclusive operating licence in the city in 1995, now flies to 14 destinations in China and South-East Asia. Shun Tak Holdings, controlled by casino tycoon Stanley Ho, and other companies such as WOW!Macau, want to tap increasing travel to Macau as the city's casinos expand and attract more tourists. Shun Tak, based in Hong Kong, was in talks with Air Macau and Virgin Blue about setting up a budget carrier in Macau, said Shun Tak managing director Pansy Ho. Air Macau had applied to the city's government to set up the new carrier, she said. more

Asia Pacific Media Network :: A loss for words in 'boring' Macau

"Indeed, homegrown press probably would have succumbed long ago to the influx of Hong Kong and mainland competitors if not for the very unique dynamics of the market: the single largest investor in Macau's media industry is the local government. Nearly every media organisation in Macau receives an annual subsidy of up to 780,000 patacas ($ 790,530), distributed by the Macau Government Information Bureau, known by its Portuguese acronym GCS. Moreover, the government shows no signs of giving the market a freer hand in the sector - as it did in recent years with gaming and telecommunications. In February, Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah announced plans to increase press subsidies by the end of the year. Last month, the government took over Macau's only terrestrial television and radio broadcaster, Teledifusao de Macau (TDM), by formally acquiring the 49.5 per cent that it did not already hold." more

Going big with Chinese medicine

A PLANTATION of 920,000ha has been cultivated with medicinal herbs, said Liu Yanhua, vice-minister of science and technology at the International Conference on Chinese Medicine which opened in Macau on Friday.   Beijing has set up 448 production bases in 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities for cultivating Chinese medicinal herbs, Liu said.   The ministry supervised a panel consisting of some 100 experts nationwide to draft guidelines for boosting the modernisation of the Chinese medicine industry in 1997, which was passed by the State Council in 2002.   (Creative Services for Prints and Posters were done by First Town Design

Shangri-La Asia 2nd-Half Net Rises as Sales Increase

Expansion Shangri-La Asia plans to increase the number of hotels it runs to 80 ``plus'' by late 2009, brining the total number of rooms it manages to about 36,000, Rao said. The company will open a 195-room hotel in the proposed 70-story, 310-meter-tall London Bridge Tower in late 2009, its first in Europe. Shangri-La is seeking more hotels in Europe and in Macau, a former Portuguese colony in China where casinos are legal, Chief Executive Giovanni Angelini said. The company is seeking only a management contract in Macau because it's not interested in the gaming business, he said at the press conference.

China speeding up plans for bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai

China wants to speed up the planning for a super bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, and construction on the US$3.8 billion (euro2.9 billion) project could begin by the end of 2005. 'The planning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge has entered another stage. The central government wants us to speed this up,' Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung told reporters Sunday. 'The goal is to start construction either by the end of this year or early next year,' she said. The 29-kilometer-long (18-mile-long) bridge could be completed by 2010, Liao added. Liao said the bridge will change the lopsided economic productivity of the east and west banks of the Pearl River by drawing more investors and tourists to the west bank, where Zhuhai and Macau are located.

Google Alert - +macau +tourism

Google Alert for: +macau +tourism

Shangri-La Asia 2nd-Half Net Rises as Sales Increase (Update2)
Bloomberg - USA
... The city's tourism board forecasts the number of visitors will rise 5 percent to ... Shangri-La is seeking more hotels in Europe and in Macau, a former Portuguese ...
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