Maucau inhabitants regarded the handover as a mere change of administration. Certainly, you see fewer Portuguese faces on the streets nowadays, but there remains the curious mixture of European flair and Far Eastern tradition that make the city so special.
Like its larger neighbour Hong Kong, Macau is now a special administrative regin of China, but its special capitalist status is guaranteed for the next 50 years.
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The Macau Museum, which opened two years ago, offers an excellent introduction to the peninsula's past and present.
Just a few metres from the museum is the city's most photographed symbol: the ruins of Sao Paulo, the Jesuit church built in 1602, although today only its imposing stone facade remains.
While the majority of Macau's inhabitants are Buddhist, some seven per cent are Catholic and the religious sites of Macau testify to the special mix of eastern and western cultures here. As well as the numberous churches inherited from Portuguese rule, there are very many different temples.
The contrast between the peace of these temples and the bustle of Macau city could hardly be more stark. The lively pedestrian zone flanked by colonial buildings with their teeming side streets are not at all reminiscent of religious contemplation.
Macau, on the southeast coast of China, consits of the Macau peninsula and the two offshore islands of Taipa and Coloane in the Pearl River delta. Ninetysix per cent of the 450,000 inhabitants are of Chinese origin. Anyone who stays a few days, soon realises that the city is small, comprehensible and charming. You soon start to recognise a few faces, even the city tramps start to become familiar. Although the tourism industry would like to sell Maucau as a racy, modern city, its real appeal is that it offers a very quiet, relaxing contrast to Hong Kong.
But Macau is also a capitalist and a wealthy city. With an annual per capita gross national product of more than 17,000 U.S. dollars, it is one of the richest regions in Asia. This is mainly thanks to gambling. Forty per cent of all state income comes from the numerous casinos here, the only legally operating gambling halls on Chinese territory. They are the playground of hordes of Hong Kong Chinese, especially at the weekends.
Gamblers press their way into the main hall in their workday clothes under a cloud of cigarette smoke and stale air. There are rows of gaming tables. Considerable sums of money change hands here and generally end up in Macau's state coffers. Many gamblers impoverish themselves here, and it is no coincidence that numerous pawn brokers have set up shop in the streets around the Hotel Lisboa.
Nevertheless, gambling remains a local passion. They bet on evening greyhoud races, and even the old men who can be seen in the city's many gardens, are gambling. They sit in cosy huddles playing Chinese games, smoking, and eexchanging the latest gossip.
澳门自从1999年12月20日在经过112年葡萄牙殖民统治回归中国后基本上保持原貌，因而游客们对它还是情有独钟的。
澳门的居民认为这次移交仅仅是一个管理上的变化。的确，在今天的大街上你看到的葡萄牙人越来越少，但是这儿的依然是欧洲风格与远东传统文化不同寻常的融合点，这使得它具有独特的城市风格。
与比它大得多的近邻香港一样，澳门现在是中国的特别行政区，但是它特殊资本主义制度将保持50年不变。
当你从香港的渡船上第一次看到澳门的时候，它看起来并不那么美丽动人。同香港那些雄伟壮丽的玻璃摩天大楼相比，澳门这个城市的空中轮廓显得呆板。改变他们的第一印象，因为他们只在澳门的游览一天。但是这样看待这座两种文化风格的城市是不公平的，你将看不到很多有趣的奥秘。
两年前开业的澳门博物馆对半岛的过去和现在提供了极好的介绍。
离博物馆不远就是这个城市最具有标志性的建筑：圣保罗废墟，这是建于1602年的基督教教堂，尽管今天只有它那雄伟的石头砌成的正面留了下来。
大多数澳门居民是佛教徒，约占7％的天主教徒和宗教故址证明这里是东西方文化特殊的交汇点。葡萄牙人统治时期遗留下来的教堂，也有很多风格不一的寺庙。
这些寺庙中的宁静和澳门城市中的喧闹形成鲜明的对比。位于具有众多小巷的殖民的风格的建筑群一侧生机勃勃的行人区一点也不会使人联想到。
位于中国东南沿海的澳门，包括澳门半岛和两个位于珠江三角洲的凼仔岛和路环岛。45万澳门居民中96％的人祖籍是中国。无论是谁在这儿逗留几天便很快意识到这个城市并不大，但让人接受和富有魅力。你很快就能够辨认出一些面孔，甚至对这个城市的不定期货船也变得熟悉起来。虽然旅游部门应使澳门是个有生气的现代化城市，但与香港相比，它真正的魅力在于它的宁静和令人放松。
但是澳门也是一个实行资本主义制度的富裕城市。它每年人均生产总值已经超过17，000美元，是亚洲最为富有的地区之一。这主要得益于博彩业。40％的政府收入来自这里的众多的赌场，中国惟一合法的经营的赌场。这里也是众多香港人的游乐场，尤其是在周末的时候。
穿着工作服，在烟雾缭绕和浑浊的空气中，赌博的人蜂拥着挤进主厅。这里有成排的赌桌。大宗的金钱在这儿易手，通常最后进入澳门政府的钱柜。很多赌徒在这里变得一文不名，而众多的典当经纪人在里斯本旅馆附近的大街上建立起自己的商店。
然而当地人仍然对赌博很钟情。他们在晚上的灰狗比赛中下赌注，甚至你了可以看到老年人在这个城市中的很多花园中赌博。他们懒散地围坐在一起下中国象棋，吸着烟，并相互传播着最新的小道消息。
