Though it costs slightly more than bus travel, the MTR is the quickest way to get to most destinations in Hong Kong.
Train
There are around 90 stations on nine underground and overland lines, and a Light Rail network that covers the northwest New Territories. Smoking, eating and drinking are not permitted in MTR stations or on the trains, and violators are subject to a fine of HK$5000.
ADepartures Trains run every two to 14 minutes from around 6am to sometime between midnight and 1am.
AExits MTR exit signs use an alphanumerical system and there can be as many as a dozen to choose from. You may find yourself studying the exit table from time to time and scratching your head. There are maps of the local area at each exit.
AFares Tickets cost HK$8 to HK$35, but trips to stations bordering mainland China (Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau) can cost up to HK$60. Children aged between three and 11 years and seniors over 65 pay half-fare. Ticket machines accept notes and coins and dispense change.
ATickets Once you’ve passed through the turnstile to begin a journey you have 90 minutes to complete it before the ticket becomes invalid. If you have underpaid (by mistake or otherwise), you can make up the difference at an MTR service counter next to the turnstile.
APeak hours If possible, it’s best to avoid the rush hours: 7.30am to 9.30am and 5pm to 7pm weekdays.
TICKETS & PASSES
Octopus Card (www.octopuscards.com) A rechargeable smartcard valid on the MTR and most forms of public transport. It also allows you to make purchases at retail outlets across the territory (such as convenience stores and supermarkets). The card costs HK$150 (HK$70 for children and seniors), which includes a HK$50 refundable deposit and HK$100 worth of travel. Octopus fares are about 5% cheaper than ordinary fares on the MTR. You can buy one and recharge at any MTR station.
Airport Express Travel Pass (one way/return HK$250/350) As well as travel to/from the airport, it allows three consecutive days of unlimited travel on the MTR.
MTR Tourist Day Pass (adult/child 3-11yr HK$65/35) Valid on the MTR for 24 hours after the first use.
Tourist Cross-Boundary Travel Pass (1/2 consecutive days HK$85/120) Allows unlimited travel on the MTR and two single journeys to/from Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau stations.
Taxi
Cheap compared to Europe and North America. Most taxis are red; green ones operate in certain parts of the New Territories; blue ones on Lantau Island. All run on meter.
Tram
Hong Kong’s venerable old trams, operated by Hong Kong Tramways (%852 2548 7102; www.hktramways.com; fares HK$2.30; h6am-midnight), are tall, narrow double-deckers. They are slow, but they’re cheap and a great way to explore the city. Try to get a seat at the front window on the upper deck for a first-class view while rattling through the crowded streets.
For a flat fare (dropped in a box beside the driver as you disembark, or use an Octopus card) you can rattle along as far as you like over 16km of track, 3km of which wends its way into Happy Valley. There are six routes but they all move on the same tracks along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island. The longest run (Kennedy Town–Shau Kei Wan, with a change at Western Market) takes about 1½ hours.
Hong Kong Tramways also offers an hour-long TramOramic tour, which lets you experience the city on an open-top, faux-vintage tram. An audio guide is available, souvenirs are for sale on board, and there are displays of vintage tickets and tram models. Three departures daily; check the website for details.
Macau
Sights
Activities
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Macau
%853 / Pop 566,375
Why Go?
Best known globally as the 'Vegas of China', the Macau Special Administrative Region is indeed a mecca of gambling and glitz. But the city is so much more than that. A Portuguese colony for more than 300 years, it is a city of blended cultures. Ancient Chinese temples sit on streets paved with traditional Portuguese tiles. The sound of Cantonese fills the air on streets with Portuguese names. You can eat Chinese congee for breakfast, enjoy a Portuguese lunch of caldo verde soup and bacalhau (cod) fritters, and dine on hybrid Macanese fare such as minchi (ground beef or pork, often served over rice).
The Macau Peninsula holds the old city centre, where colonial ruins sit next to arty new boutiques. Further south are the conjoined islands of Taipa, Cotai and Coloane. Taipa has gloriously preserved Macanese architecture, Cotai is home to the new megacasinos and Coloane is lined with colonial villages and pretty beaches.
When to Go
AMar–May Celebrate the arts, a sea goddess and a dragon as mist hangs over the harbour.
AJun–Sep Days in the shade of temples and dragon boats; nights aglow with fireworks.
AOct–Feb Music and grand prix in a high-octane run-up to Christmas and New Year.
Best Places to Eat
A António
A Restaurante Fernando
A Clube Militar de Macau
A Robuchon au Dôme
A Lord Stow's Bakery
Best Places to Sleep
A Pousada de São Tiago
A Banyan Tree
A Mandarin Oriental
A Okura
Macau Highlights
1 Taipa Village Dining on Portuguese fare and wandering the narrow colonial lanes of this charming old village.
2 Venetian Wandering the baroque indoor canals of this mind-blowingly huge casino complex, a virtual city unto itself.
3 Ruins of the Church of St Paul Exploring the very symbol of Macau, the towering facade of a 1600s Portuguese cathedral, its interior destroyed by fire, sitting dramatically atop a hill.
4 Lou Lim Ieoc Garden Losing yourself in maze-like spaces at Lou Lim Ieoc Garden, its lush bamboo groves and lotus ponds built by a 19th-century tycoon.
5 Guia Fortress & Guia Chapel Taking the cable car to handsome Guia Fort and its gorgeous chapel, a 17th-century colonial complex atop a hill.
6 Restaurante Fernando Indulging in a long lunch of garlicky clams and crisp suckling pig at this beloved beachside Portuguese institution in Coloane.
History
Portuguese galleons first visited southern China to trade in the early 16th century, and in 1557, as a reward for clearing out pirates, they obtained a leasehold for Macau. The first Portuguese governor of Macau was appointed in 1680, and as trade with China grew, so did Macau. However, after the Opium Wars between the Chinese and the British, and the subsequent establishment of Hong Kong, Macau went into a long decline.
In 1999, under the Sino–Portuguese Joint Declaration, Macau was returned to China and designated as a Special Administrative Region (SAR). Like Hong Kong, the pact ensures Macau a ‘high degree of autonomy’ in all matters (except defence and foreign affairs) for 50 years. The handover, however, did not change Macau socially and economically as much as the termination of the gambling monopoly in 2001. Casinos mushroomed, redefining the city’s skyline, and tourists from mainland China surged, fattening up the city’s coffers.
Yet the revenue boost, coupled with government policies (or the lack thereof), also led to income inequality and a labour shortage. Macau residents are also increasingly critical of their chief executive’s pro-Běijīng stance. In May 2014 thousands in the formerly placid city took to the streets to protest Chief Executive Fernando Chui, who was re-elected three months later.
Language
Cantonese and Portuguese are the official languages of Macau, though few people actually speak Portuguese. English and Mandarin are reasonably well understood, though the former is harder to find here than in Hong Kong.
Macau Peninsula
1Top Sights
1AFA (Art for All Society)E5
2Guia Fortress & Guia ChapelE4
3Macau Museum of ArtF6
4Mandarin's HouseB6
5Ruins of the Church of St PaulC4
1Sights
6A-Ma TempleA7
7Avenida da RepúblicaB7
Bishop's PalaceB7
8Casa GardenC3
9Chapel of Our Lady of PenhaB7
10Church of St LawrenceB6
11Creative MacauF6
12Flora GardensF3
13Lin Fung TempleE1
14Lou Lim Ieoc GardenE3
15Lou Lim Ieoc Garden PavilionE3
16Luís de Camões Garden & GrottoC3
17Macao Tea Culture HouseE3
18Macau Cultural CentreF6
19Macau TowerB8
20Maritime MuseumA7
21Old Protestant CemeteryC3
22Penha HillB7
23Residence of the Portuguese Consul-GeneralB7
Sr Wong Ieng Kuan LibraryC3
24Tap Seac GalleryE4
25Tap Seac SquareE4
2Activities, Courses & Tours
Gray Line
26Guia Hill Hiking CircuitF4
4Sleeping
27Mandarin OrientalE7
28Pousada de Mong HáE2
29Pousada de São TiagoA8
5Eating
30Guincho a GaleraD6
31Lung Wah Tea HouseD2
32Nga HeongD3
Robuchon Au DômeD6
6Drinking & Nightlife
33Lion's BarE7
3Entertainment
34Grand Lisboa CasinoD6
35Live Music AssociationE2
7Shopping
36Macau Design CentreE1
37Mercearia PortuguesaD4
8Information
38Centro Hospitalar Conde Saõ JanuárioE5
39China Travel ServiceE5
40DHLE3
41Federal ExpressF5
42Hospital Kiang WuD4
MGTO-Macau Ferry TerminalG4
43UPSF2
Transport
44Air MacauE6
Avis Rent A Car
45Burgeon Rent A CarF1
46Cable Car TerminusF4
47Macau Maritime Ferry TerminalG4
48Sky ShuttleG4
1Sights
Central Macau Peninsula
oRuins of the Church of St PaulRUINS
(大三巴牌坊, Ruinas de Igreja de São Paulo MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Travessa de São Paulo; g8A, 17, 26, disembark at Luís de Camões Garden)F
The most treasured icon in Macau, the towering facade and stairway are all that remain of this early-17th-century Jesuit church. With its statues, portals and engravings that effectively make up a ‘sermon in stone’ and a Biblia pauperum (Bible of the poor), the church was one of the greatest monuments to Christianity in Asia, intended to help the illiterate understand the Passion of Christ and the lives of the saints.
The church was designed by an Italian Jesuit and completed by early Japanese Christian exiles and Chinese craftsmen in 1602. It was abandoned after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1762 and a military battalion was stationed here. In 1835 a fire erupted in the kitchen of the barracks, destroying everything, except what you see today. At the top is a dove, representing the Holy Spirit, surrounded by stone carvings of the sun, moon and stars. Beneath the Holy Spirit is a statue of the infant Jesus, and around it, stone carvings of the implements of the Crucifixion (the whip, crown of thorns, nails, ladder and spear). In the centre of the third tier stands the Virgin Mary being assumed bodily into heaven along with angels and two flowers: the peony, representing China, and the chrysanthemum, representing Japan. To the right of the Virgin is a carving of the tree of life and the apocalyptic woman (Mary) slaying a seven-headed hydra; the Japanese kanji next to her read: ‘The holy mother tramples the heads of the dragon’. To the left of the central statue of Mary, a ‘star’ guides a ship (the Church) through a storm (sin); a carving of the devil is to the left. The fourth tier has statues of four Jesuit doctors of the church: (from left) Blessed Francisco de Borja; St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the order; St Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Far East; and Blessed Luís Gonzaga.
oSt Lazarus Church DistrictAREA
(瘋堂斜巷, Calcada da Igreja de São Lazaro MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.cipa.org.mo; g7, 8)
A lovely neighbourhood with colonial-style houses and cobbled streets makes for some of Macau's best photo-ops. Designers and other creative types like to gather here, setting up shop and organising artsy events.
oAFA (Art for All Society)GALLERY
(全藝社 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %853 2836 6064; www.afamacau.com; 1st fl, Art Garden, Avenida Dr Rodrigo Rodrigues N 265, Macau; h11am-7pm Tue-Sun; g8, 8A, 18A, 7)
Macau’s best contemporary art can be seen at this nonprofit gallery, which has taken Macau's art worldwide and holds monthly solo exhibitions by Macau’s top artists. AFA is near the Mong Há Multi-Sport Pavilion. Disembark from the bus at Rua da Barca or Rua de Francisco Xavier Pereira. Alternatively, it’s a 20-minute walk from Largo do Senado.
oMandarin’s HouseHISTORIC BUILDING
(鄭家大屋, Caso do Mandarim MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %853 2896 8820; www.wh.mo/mandarinhouse; 10 Travessa de António da Silva; h10am-5.30pm Thu-Tue; g28B, 18)F
Built around 1869, the Mandarin’s House, with over 60 rooms, was the ancestral home of Zheng Guanying, an influential author-merchant whose readers included emperors, Dr Sun Yatsen and Chairman Mao. The compound features a moon gate, tranquil courtyards, exquisite rooms and a main hall with French windows, all arranged in that labyrinthine style typical of certain Chinese period buildings. There are guided tours in Cantonese on weekend afternoons.
oSt Joseph’s Seminary & ChurchCHURCH
(聖若瑟修院及聖堂, Capela do Seminario São José MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Rua do Seminario; hchurch 10am-5pm; g9, 16, 18, 28B)
St Joseph’s, which falls outside the tourist circuit, is one of Macau’s most beautiful models of tropicalised baroque architecture. Consecrated in 1758 as part of the Jesuit seminary (not open to the public), it features a white-and-yellow facade, a scalloped entrance canopy (European) and the oldest dome, albeit a shallow one, ever built in China. The most interesting feature, however, is the roof, which features Chinese materials and building styles.
oSir Robert Ho Tung LibraryLIBRARY
(何東圖書館 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 3 Largo de St Agostinho; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, 11am-7pm Sun; g9, 16, 18)
This charming building founded in the 19th century was the country retreat of the late tycoon Robert Ho Tung, who purchased it in 1918. The colonial edifice, featuring a dome, an arcaded facade, Ionic columns and Chinese-style gardens, was given a modern extension by architect Joy Choi Tin Tin not too long ago. The new four-storey structure in glass and steel has Piranesi-inspired bridges connecting to the old house and a glass roof straddling the transitional space.
Bishop's PalaceHISTORIC BUILDING
(主教府 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Penha Hill)
This butter-yellow colonial palace is the office of the Bishop of Macau, the highest Catholic authority in the city.
Street of HappinessSTREET
(福隆新街 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Rua da Felicidade; g3, 6, 26A)
Not far west of Largo do Senado is Rua da Felicidade (Street of Happiness). Its shuttered terraces were once Macau’s main red-light district. Several scenes from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were shot here. The government has plans to repaint the famous red shutters in the original colour – green. But whether it's wise to change the distinguishing feature of so iconic a landmark remains to be seen.
Leal SenadoHISTORIC BUILDING
(民政總署大樓 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %853 2857 2233; 163 Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro; h9am-9pm Tue-Sun; g3, 6, 26A, 18A, 33, disembark at Almeida Ribeiro)
Facing Largo do Senado is Macau’s most important historical building, the 18th-century ‘Loyal Senate’, which houses the Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais (IACM; Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau). It is so-named because the body sitting here refused to recognise Spain’s sovereignty during the 60 years that it occupied Portugal. In 165
4, a dozen years after Portuguese sovereignty was re-established, King João IV ordered a heraldic inscription to be placed inside the entrance hall, which can still be seen today.
Inside the entrance hall is the IACM Temporary Exhibition Gallery (民政總署臨時展覽廳 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %853 8988 4100; 163 Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro; h9am-9pm Tue-Sun; g3, 6, 26A, 18A, 33, disembark at Almeida Ribeiro). On the 1st floor is the Senate Library (民政總署圖書館 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %853 2857 2233; Leal Senado, 163 Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro; h1-7pm Tue-Sat; g3, 6, 26A, 18A, 33, disembark at Almeida Ribeiro), which has a collection of some 18,500 books, and wonderful carved wooden furnishings and panelled walls.
Monte FortFORT
(大炮台, Fortaleza do Monte MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h7am-7pm; g7, 8, disembark at Social Welfare Bureau)
Just east of the Ruins of the Church of St Paul, Monte Fort was built by the Jesuits between 1617 and 1626 as part of the College of the Mother of God. Barracks and storehouses were designed to allow the fort to survive a two-year siege, but the cannons were fired only once, during the aborted attempt by the Dutch to invade Macau in 1622. Now the cannons on the south side are trained at the gaudy Grand Lisboa Casino like an accusing finger.
Lou Kau MansionHISTORIC BUILDING
(盧家大屋, Casa de Lou Kau MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %853 8399 6699; 7 Travessa da Sé; h9am-7pm Tue-Sun; g3, 4, 6A, 8A, 19, 33)F
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