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- DictionaryMa·cao/məˈkou/
- 1. a special administrative region on the southeastern coast of China on the west side of the Pearl River estuary opposite Hong Kong; formerly a Portuguese dependency and comprising the Macao peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Cologne; population 588,000 (estimated 2015); official languages, Portuguese and Cantonese; capital, Macao City. Visited by Vasco da Gama in 1497, Macao was developed by the Portuguese as a trading post and became the chief center of trade between Europe and China in the 18th century. Under the terms of a 1987 agreement sovereignty passed to China in 1999.
