Macao (mәkou´), Port. Macau, Mandarin Aomen, special
administrative region of China, formerly administered by
Portugal (2005 est. pop. 449,000), 6.5 sq mi (16.9 sq km),
adjoining Guangdong prov., SE China, on the estuary of the Pearl
River, 40 mi (64 km) W of Hong Kong and 65 mi (105 km) S of
Guangzhou (Canton). The most densely populated place in the
world, Macao consists of a rocky, hilly peninsula connected to
China's Zhongshan (Tangjiahuan) island and an island consisting
of the former islands of Taipa and Colôane, now joined to each
other by landfill (an area known as Cotai). The island is
connected to the peninsula by bridges. The capital, the city of
Macao, is approximately coextensive with the peninsula and
contains almost the entire population of the province. Macao's
historic structures include the remaining facade of St. Paul's
Basilica (built 1635 by Roman Catholic Japanese artisans; burned
1835), a fascinating example of late Italian Renaissance
architecture, with mixed Western and Asian motifs;