Colonial Macau

A Bit of Old Portugal

In this time, before the great Chinese industrial buildup, Macau had just one casino. The rest of it, as shown here, was a picturesquely crumbling old Portugal.

R: Fisherman pull their boat up on shore

A neglected colony

Unlike nearby Hong Kong, colonial law in Macau never promoted the entrepreneurial spirit of Chinese defectors from the old Maoist “iron rice bowl.” Salvation for Macau came only after Portugal handed it back to a modernizing China.

The colonial governor’s house
Fish just hauled in
The main occupation of this period was fishing, with the first few casinos starting up. Gambling was eventually to take over as the primary industry.
Lobster traps piled onshore
Caixa de Fosforos is a major hotel
The A-Ma Temple, dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu