By David Brough
MACAU – The high-rise hotels packed with Chinese gamblers, and the shopping hubs near the historic centre of the former Portuguese colony of Macau, bristle with retail jewellers, notably Chow Tai Fook and Lukfook.
Macau, a special administrative region of China, is a magnet for tourists and has one of the highest GDPs in the world; it is the world’s most densely populated region.
The region earns more from gambling than Las Vegas, mainly from Chinese tourists who flock to the many dramatically designed, air-conditioned multi-storey hotels clustered in or near the centre. Buses regularly shuttle visitors without charge from ports to the gaming hotels.
The preponderance of jewellers near the gambling sites, creates opportunities to spend winnings in the tax-free jewellery shops stocked with gold, diamond and jade jewellery.
Macau is just over an hour away from Hong Kong by sea, and is an even shorter journey from Shenzhen in mainland China.
Ferries from Hong Kong to Macau takes just over an hour
