Macau (also spelled Macao, 澳門, Oumùhn in Cantonese, Àomén in Mandarin) is a former Portuguese colony, a world-renowned gambling destination, and one of the world’s most densely populated spots, with a population of 667,000 people (2016) in an area half the size of Manhattan Island. Returned to Chinese rule in 1999, it is now a semi-autonomous “Special Administrative Region”, a status it shares with nearby Hong Kong.