East Meets West in Relaxing Macau
Macau is largely unchanged since being returned to China on December 20th 1999 after 112 years as a Portuguese1 colony and visitors appreciate it.
Macau 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 2 and Far Eastern tradition that make the city so special.
Like its larger neighbour Hong Kong， Macau is now a special administrative region of China， but its special capitalist status is guaranteed for the next 50 years.
When you first glimpse Macau on the ferry from Hong Kong， it looks less than impressive. The skyline is dull compared to the imposing3 glass skyscrapers of Hong Kong， and most people do not take the time to revise4 this first impression， devoting no more than a day trip to it. But this does not do justice to this city of two cultures， which hides plenty of interesting secrets.The Macau Museum， which opened two years ago， offers an excellent introduction to the peninsula's5 past and present. Children love it because it is full of technical paraphernalia6. You can press buttons to light up trade routes on maps， or to hear the different typical cries of Macau's traders.Just a few metres from the museum is the city's most photographed symbol： the ruins of Sao Paulo， the Jesuit7 church built in 1602， although today only its imposing stone facade remains.While the majority of Macau's inhabitants are Buddhist8， 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 numerous churches inherited from Portuguese rule， there are very many different temples.The largest is the Kun Iam Tong. In the main hall of this temple， giant spiral9 joss-sticks10 hang from the ceiling， raining small piles of ash on the heads of visitors. Along the sides are smaller ancestors rooms commemorating11 the dead. There is also a room of plants which includes a special bonsai12 tree， the trunk of which happens to be shaped like the Chinese sign meaning long life.The contrast between the peace of these temples and the bustle13 of Macau city could hardly be more stark14. The lively pedestrian zone flanked15 by colonial buildings with their teeming16 side streets are not at all reminiscent of religious contemplation17. Locals and tourists saunter along with shopping bags.Macau， on the southeast coast of China， consists of the Macau peninsula and the two offshore islands of Taipa and Coloane in the Pearl River delta18. Ninety-six per cent of the 450，000 inhabitants are of Chinese origin. Anyone who stays a few days， soon realises that the city is small but charming. You soon start to recognise a few faces， even the city tramps19 start to become familiar. Although the tourism industry would like to sell Macau as a racy20， modern city， its real appeal is that it offers a very quiet， relaxing contrast to Hong Kong.But Macau is one of the richest regions in Asia， with an annual per capita21 gross national product of more than 17，000 U.S. dollars. 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.在经由112年葡萄牙殖夷易近统治后，澳门于1999年12月20日回回中国，尔后根基上连结原貌，旅客们对此很浏览。
澳门的居夷易近以为此次移交仅仅是管理上的转变。确实，在本日澳门年夜街上你看不到多少葡萄牙人，可是这儿仍然是欧洲风格与远东传统文明不合平常的融会点，这使得它具有奇特的都会风姿。
与较年夜的隔壁喷鼻香港一样，澳门现在是中国的一个分外行政区，它连结本钱主义轨制的特别地位将50年稳定。
当你从喷鼻香港开来的渡船上第一次瞥一眼澳门时，它看起来并不起眼。同喷鼻香港那雄伟绚丽的摩天算夜楼比拟，澳门这个都会的表面显得并不但显，年夜都人不会往破费一天的时候到那边往看一看以批改他们的第一印象。可是如斯对待这座具有两种文明风格的都会是不平正的，如许良多风趣的东西就看不到了。
两年前开放的澳门博物馆极好地展现了半岛的过往和现在。孩子们都喜好它是因为外面有各种百般科技含量高的东西。你按一下按钮就能将地图上的商业航线照亮，还可以听一听澳门商贩那各具特征的叫卖声。
离博物馆不远便是这个都会最具标忘性的修建：圣保罗原址，建于1602年的耶稣会教堂，虽然本日只要它那雄伟的石头砌成的正面仍留存上去。
年夜年夜都澳门居夷易近是释教徒，只要7％的居夷易近是天主教徒，澳门的宗教故址就足以证明这里是东西方文明特另交际汇点。除了葡萄牙人统治期间遗留上去的众多教堂之外，这里另有良多风格不一的寺庙。
最年夜的是不雅观音堂。在这个不雅观音堂的主厅内，庞年夜的螺旋形的喷鼻香从天花板上垂吊着，它的灰烬落上去，一些落到了旅行者的头上。堂的两厢是留念已逝先祖的斗室间。有一间房内放着盆景，其中有一棵树很特别，这树的树干形状正像汉字的"寿".
这些寺庙的恬静与澳门都会的繁盛强烈热闹贫贱组成鲜明对比。行人区内非常热闹，四边都是殖夷易近地风格的修建，小街纵横交织，这里一点宗教氛围都没有。外埠居夷易近和旅游者都带着购物的袋子闲逛。
位于中国东南海岸的澳门，包括澳门半岛和两个位于珠江三角洲的凼仔岛和路环岛。45万澳门居夷易近中96％的人祖籍是中国。无论是谁在这儿勾留几天便很满意识到这个都会不年夜但富有魅力。你很快就可以识别出一些面容，乃至对这个都会的漂泊汉也变得认识起来。固然旅行业想要把澳门作为一个富有特征的现代化都会，但其真正令人喜好的是，与喷鼻香港比拟，它显得分外恬静和让人放松。
可是澳门也是亚洲最富的地区之一，它每年每人的国夷易近临盆产值已经跨越了1.7万美元。这重要得益于博彩业。40％的政府收出去自于这里众多的赌场，这里有中国版图上埋头合法运营的赌常
注释：
1.Portuguese adj.葡萄牙的
2.flair n.鉴别力，目光
3.imposing adj.壮不雅观的，特殊的
4.revise vt.批改，改正
5.peninsula n.地半岛
6.paraphernalia n.设置装备摆设，东西
7.Jesuit n.耶稣会会士
8.Buddhist n.释教徒
9.spiral adj.螺旋形的
10.joss stick（祭祀祖先或神佛时点的）线喷鼻香
11.commemorate vt.留念
12.bonsai n.单复同盆景，盆景艺术
13.bustle n.忙乱，清净
14.stark adj.清楚的，凸起的
15.flank vt.位于…的正面
16.teeming adj.拥堵的，热闹的
17.contemplation n.（宗教徒的）敛心默祷
18.delta n.（河流的）三角洲
19.tramp n.漂泊者
20.racy adj.具特征的
21.per capita人均

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