statue on top of board of trade chicago

The 141 W. Jackson address hosted the former tallest building in Chicago designed by William W. Boyington before the current Holabird & Root structure, which held the same title for over 35 years[7] until being surpassed in 1965 by the Richard J. Daley Center. The current structure is known for its art deco architecture, sculptures and large-scale stone carving, as well as large trading floors. An aluminum, three-story art deco statue of Ceres, goddess of agriculture (particularly grain), caps the building. The building is a popular sightseeing attraction and location for shooting movies, and its owners and management have won awards for efforts to preserve the building and for office management.

Chicago Board of Trade Building

The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It stands at 141 W. Jackson Boulevard at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon, in the Loop community area in Cook County. Built in 1930 and first designated a Chicago Landmark on May 4, 1977,[2] the building was listed as a National Historic Landmark on June 2, 1978.[3][4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 16, 1978. Originally built for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it is now the primary trading venue for the derivatives exchange, the CME Group, formed in 2007 by the merger of the CBOT and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.[5] In 2012, the CME Group sold the CBOT Building to a consortium of real estate investors, including GlenStar Properties LLC and USAA Real Estate Company.[6]

On April 3, 1848, the Board of Trade opened for business at 101 South Water Street. When 122 members were added in 1856, it was moved to the corner of South Water and LaSalle Streets. After another temporary relocation west on South Water Street in 1860, the first permanent home was established within the Chamber of Commerce Building on the corner of LaSalle and Washington Streets in 1865. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed this building. The exchange temporarily reopened two weeks after the fire in a 90 feet (27Â m) wooden building known as "the Wigwam" at the intersection of Washington and Market Streets,[8] before reclaiming its home in a new building constructed at the Chamber of Commerce site one year later.

In 1882 construction began of the CBOT's new home, which opened at the current location on May 1, 1885. The building was designed by William W. Boyington, best known today for his work on the Chicago Water Tower. It faced Jackson Street with 180 ft (55 m) feet of frontage, and was built from structural steel and granite taken from the Fox Island quarry near Vinalhaven, Maine. With a rear of enameled brick, it was 10 stories tall and featured a tower 320 ft (98 m) tall containing a large clock and 4,500 pounds (2,000 kg; 320 st) bell, topped by a 9 feet (2.7 m) copper weather vane in the shape of a ship. The interiors were finished in mahogany and frescoed. Construction cost $1.8 million (about 48 million in 2016 terms). With four elevators and a great hall measuring 152 ft × 161 ft (46 m × 49 m) and 80 ft (24 m) high decorated by a stained-glass skylight and ornate stone balusters,[10] it was the first commercial building in Chicago to have electric lighting.[11] It was also the first building in the city to exceed 300 ft (91 m) in height and at the time was the tallest building in Chicago. The building's formal dedication ceremonies, which were described by a contemporary as "brilliant and imposing", took place on April 29, 1885 and were attended by over four thousand persons including dignitaries from around the world.[9]

The building attracted tourists, visitors, and protesters. The inaugural banquet for the building opening was marched on by a sizable column of Chicago labor activists, under the International Working People's Association banner and led by Albert Parsons, Lucy Parsons, and Lizzie Holmes. "The building, on which two million dollars had been lavished in the midst of an economic depression, was denounced by the anarchists as... the crowning symbol of all that was hateful in the private property system.".[12] The procession were cheered by thousands of spectators. Their access to the Board of Trade was blocked by a phalanx of police, first at Jackson, then at LaSalle, finally coming to within a half-block of the building, "bathed in a sea of electric light only recently installed for the occasion."[12]

Viewing galleries were opened to the public for the first time in honor of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.[8]

In 1895, the clock tower was removed and the "tallest building in Chicago" record was then held by the 302 ft (92 m) tall Masonic Temple Building.[13] Built on caissons surrounded by muck, the trading house was rendered structurally unsound in the 1920s when construction began across the street on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The 1885 building was subsequently demolished in 1929,[14] and the exchange temporarily moved to Van Buren and Clark while a new building was constructed at the LaSalle and Jackson site.

The 1885 allegorical architectural sculptures of 35 ft (11 m) Industry and Agriculture, two figures of a four-piece set, were removed from the original building and now stand in a nearby pedestrian plaza.[15]

In 1925, the Chicago Board of Trade commissioned Holabird & Root to design the current building. The general contractors Hegeman & Harris built it for $11.3 million, although the reported twenty-year mortgage value was $12 million[16][17] ($12 million in 1925 equates to about 160 million in 2016 dollars). Clad in gray Indiana limestone, topped with a copper pyramid roof, and standing on a site running 174 ft (53 m) east–west on Jackson Boulevard and 240 ft (73 m) north–south on LaSalle Street, the 605 ft (184 m) tall art deco-styled building opened on June 9, 1930. It serves as the southern border for the skyscrapers hugging LaSalle Street and is taller than surrounding structures for several blocks. The Chicago Board of Trade has operated continuously on its fourth floor since the 1930 opening, dedicating 19,000 square feet (1,800 m2) to what was then the world's largest trading floor.[18]

The advent of steel frame structural systems allowed completely vertical construction; but as with many skyscrapers of the era, the exterior was designed with multiple setbacks at increasing heights, which served to allow additional light into the ever-deepening concrete valleys in urban cores. At night, the setbacks are upwardly lit by floodlights, further emphasizing the structure's vertical elements. The night illumination design was a common contemporary Chicago architectural theme, seen also in the Wrigley Building, the Jewelers Building, the Palmolive Building, the LaSalle-Wacker Building, and the Tribune Tower.[19]

Interior decoration includes polished surfaces throughout, the use of black and white marble, prominent vertical hallway trim, and an open three-story lobby which at the time of opening housed the world's largest light fixture. Though One LaSalle Street had five more floors, the CBOT building was the first in Chicago to exceed a height of 600 ft (180 m). After surpassing the Chicago Temple Building, it was the tallest in Chicago until the Daley Center was completed in 1965. Known for its work on the Brooklyn Bridge, the family-operated factory of John A. Roebling supplied all of the cables used in the building's 23 Otis elevators.[20][21] Beneath the main trading floor over 2,700 miles (4,300 km) of telephone and telegraph wires were once hidden. No less than 150,000 miles (240,000 km) of wires (considered possibly the most direct long-distance wire from any building) once ran from the room.[22] Although the building was commissioned for the Chicago Board of Trade, its first tenant was the Quaker Oats Company, which moved in on May 1, 1930.[23]

Sculptural work by Alvin Meyer, the one-time head of Holabird & Root's sculpture department, is prominent on the building's façade, and represents the trading activities within. On each side of the 13 ft (4.0 m) diameter clock facing LaSalle Street are hooded figures, a Babylonian holding grain and a Native American holding corn.[24][25][26] Similar figures are repeated at the uppermost corners of the central tower, just below the sloping roof. About 30 ft (9.1 m) above street level, representations of bulls protrude directly from the limestone cladding on the building's north side and to a lesser degree on the east side, a reference to a bull market.

The central structure is capped by a 6,500 pound, 31 ft (9.4 m) tall aluminum statue by sculptor John H. Storrs of the Roman goddess of grain, Ceres, holding a sheaf of wheat in the left hand and a bag of corn in the right hand, as a nod to the exchange's heritage as a commodities market. This statue was assembled from 40 pieces.[27][28]

Commissioned in 1930 but removed from the agricultural trading room in 1973 and stored until 1982, John W. Norton's three-story mural of Ceres shown bare-breasted in a field of grain underwent extensive restoration in Spring Grove, Illinois by Louis Pomerantz before being displayed in the atrium of the 1980s addition.[29][30]

According to the June 16, 1930 issue of Time magazine, visitors carrying ripened wheat heads stared in curiosity at the six-story tall trading room directly above the lobby and behind the large windows below the clock facing LaSalle Street. At the center of the room, Time reported on the items being traded in "pits" organized based on commodities type with pits names such as the corn pit, soybean pit or wheat pit. The individual pits are raised octagonal structures where open outcry trading occurs. Steps up the outside of each octagon provide an amphitheater atmosphere, and enable a large number of traders to see each other and communicate during trading hours. With early versions dating back to 1870, this type of trading pit was patented in 1878.[8]

The trading area is surrounded by desks allowing workers to support transactions. In the early days, the desks served as a relay point between the pits and those wishing to buy or sell. When trade orders and information began to be communicated by telegraph, Morse code operators were employed, later replaced by phone operators. In the late 20th century, electric display boards lined the walls of the trading hall and the advent of electronic trading resulted in computers being placed on desktops.

Subsequent additions to the Board of Trade Building moved the agricultural and financial trading floors out of the original trading room and into new spaces in the additions to the building's rear in the 1980s. In 2004 the historic 1930 trading floor, already substantially altered (and unused for more than two years), was demolished and its pits filled with concrete. It was renovated in a modern style and now is leased to a privately owned options trading firm.[31]

In 1980, the owners added a 275 ft (84 m) 23-story expansion to the south side of the building.[32] It was topped by an octagonal ornament shaped similarly to the terraced trading pits and was designed in a postmodern style by Helmut Jahn. Colored black and silver, with a sunlit atrium on the 12th floor facing the south wall of the older structure, the annex provided a four-story granite lined agricultural trading floor, then the world's largest at 32,000 square feet (2,970 m2).[8] Even as the Sydney Futures Exchange and other markets were ceasing outcry trading, Mayor Richard M. Daley led the groundbreaking on January 17, 1995, for additional expansion into a five-story building to the east designed by architects Fujikawa Johnson and structural engineers TT-CBM. When opened in 1997, the $175 million structure would add 60,000 square feet (5,570 m2) of trading space and for a period again would house the world's largest trading floor.[8][33][34] It was nicknamed the "Arboretum" by some in reference to expansion supporter CBOT Chairman Patrick H. Arbor.[33] The expansion included price boards 600 feet (183 m) long and supported 12,000 computers, 6,000 voice devices, and 2,000 video devices requiring 27,000 miles (43,500 km) of cable.[35]

Collectively, the trading floors now encompass approximately 115,150 square feet (10,700 m2).[36] The logo of the CBOT represents a trading pit, and appears prominently on stonework facing Clark Street and on street-level barriers at the service entrance on Van Buren Street. The addition has a twelve-story atrium and melds historical and contemporary design with art deco references such as setbacks, central tower, symmetrical projecting wings, pyramidal roof and abstract cascade and scallop lobby design.[37] Between the original and new buildings, where there was formerly a street, a wide street-level walkway connects the plaza on LaSalle Street to Van Buren Street in what would ordinarily be the building's first floor. Passing over the Van Buren Street elevated tracks, a green glass-enclosed steel-frame bridge connects the lower southwest corner of the 23 story addition to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (although this bridge was closed to pedestrian traffic in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks for security reasons).

In 2005, the building underwent an extensive $20 million renovation directed by Chicago architect Gunny Harboe, whose restoration work included Loop landmarks the Rookery Building and Reliance Building. The project included restoration of the main lobby to emphasize the design features of the art deco era, elevator modernization, façade renovation and cleaning, and the continued renovation of upper floor corridors and hallways.[38][39] Though impractically small for modern use, mailboxes in the lobby were restored to their original condition to follow the theme of vertical lines found throughout the complex.[40] An improved electrical infrastructure, with ten main feeds from seven different Commonwealth Edison electrical substations, was added in addition to redundant cooling systems and upgraded telecommunications capabilities.

When the old CBOT building was demolished in 1929, two 4.5 short tons (4.0 long tons; 4.1 t) 12 ft (3.7 m) tall gray granite statues of classically styled goddesses (pictured above) were moved from the second floor ledge above the main entrance into the gardens of the 500 acre (2 km²) estate of Arthur W. Cutten, a wheat and cotton speculator who went bankrupt during the Great Depression. One goddess represents agriculture and is shown standing with wheat and leaning on a cornucopia. The other represents industry and appears with the bow of a ship and an anvil.

The statues were found in 1978 near Glen Ellyn, Illinois by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, on land acquired from Cutten's estate. After being displayed in a parking lot at Danada Forest Preserve for several years, both were returned to the CBOT building's plaza and rededicated on June 9, 2005.[14][41]

The LaSalle Street canyon is home to other historic buildings including the Rookery Building, a National Historic Landmark considered to be the oldest standing high-rise. A 1907 renovation included a lobby remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Prairie School style.[42] The name rookery comes from the previous building on the property which became home to many birds, especially pigeons. The nearby Reliance Building was the first skyscraper to have large plate glass windows comprise the majority of its surface area, and One North LaSalle was for some time one of Chicago's tallest buildings. Both the Reliance Building and One North LaSalle are on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1853, the governments of Chicago and Cook County have shared three different buildings at the north end of the canyon. The current Chicago City Hall, built in a Classical Revival style, was designed to symbolize the strength, dignity, and vigor of the government.[43] Completed in 2001, an award-winning green roof was incorporated into the structure.[44] All of the structures are designated as Chicago Landmarks.

Other nearby buildings of note include the Continental Commercial National Bank, now called 208 South LaSalle Street, which broke records in 1911 as the city's most expensive development, with a cost exceeding $10Â million. The Rand-McNally Building that had served as the headquarters of the World's Columbian Exposition was demolished to accommodate the structure.[45] The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, at 230 South LaSalle Street, was built in a Greco-Roman style and contained the largest vaults in the world and one of the first building-wide wired communication systems.[46] Both the Federal Reserve Bank and 208 South LaSalle demonstrate the popularity of neoclassical architecture during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were meant to project a sense of financial security.[45]

One mile (1.6 km) west of Lake Michigan and in the southwest corner of the Loop, the building is near two elevated stations of the Chicago 'L'. The Quincy station is one block to the west and the LaSalle/VanBuren station is between the CBOT and the Chicago Stock Exchange; both stations are served by the Orange, Purple, Pink, and Brown Lines. Additionally, Blue Line service is provided at the Jackson and LaSalle stations, each two blocks away. Union Station stands five blocks to the west on Jackson Boulevard, providing terminal service for Amtrak and select service for Metra. Additional Metra service is provided at the LaSalle Street Station, two blocks due south.

In September 2011,[47] the intersection of LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard in front of the building became the headquarters for the Occupy Chicago protest movement.[48][49] On April 23, 2013, the CME Group sold the north and south towers of the building at 141 W. Jackson Blvd. for $151.5 Million to a joint venture between GlenStar Properties LLC and USAA Real Estate Co. The CME will retain ownership of the smaller east building at 333 S. LaSalle St. CME signed a 15-year lease for the 150,000 square-feet it occupies in the two towers.[50]

The CME Group occupies 33 percent of available space, while financial and trading concerns occupy 54 percent of the three-building complex. In addition to Ceres Cafe on the first floor of the lobby, other businesses provide banking, insurance, travel services, beauty services, and healthcare. Some business have been in the building for over 40 years,[40] and throughout its history, commodities speculators, such as "Prince of the Pit" Richard Dennis, have maintained offices in the building. In 2007, the U.S. Futures Exchange, a competitor of the CBOT formerly known as Eurex US, announced a move from the Sears Tower into the 14th floor of the CBOT building.[51]

The CBOT building has been the site of a number of visits by dignitaries, including the Prince of Wales in October 1977. In 1991, George H. W. Bush became the first President of the United States to visit the Exchange, where he delivered a speech from the soybean pit regarding the importance of agriculture to the American economy.[52] A visit from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev followed on May 7, 1992. In 2006, former US President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalyn toured the CBOT while campaigning for their son Jack's run for a U.S. Senate seat from Nevada.[53] During the 1996 Democratic National Convention, US Vice President Al Gore was hosted at the Exchange's Democratic Senatorial Campaign reception.[8] When US President George W. Bush toured the agricultural trading floor on January 6, 2006, he was hailed from the corn trading pit with "Hook 'em, Horns!", a reference to his adopted home state of Texas.[40][54] Interest groups such as the Chicago Architecture Foundation provide scheduled tours showcasing the architecture and selected portions of the trading operations.

Chicago Board of Trade logo

A scale model of John H. Storrs' statue of Ceres is on display in the Art Institute of Chicago

Architectural detail trade of corn and wheat

The lobby entrance doors to the building. Note the grain artwork

The lobby inside the Board of Trade

Lobby mailbox at the Chicago Board of Trade building

The 1885 building and trading pits were prominently featured in The Pit, the second novel by Frank Norris in The Epic of the Wheat trilogy.[58][59] Life on the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade is detailed in the nonfiction book Leg the Spread by Cari Lynn (2004).[60]

Trading operations have been used as scenes in movies such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off,[61][62] and the streetscape in the LaSalle Street canyon is used in the movies The Untouchables, Road to Perdition, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.[63][64][65]

In Batman Begins, the Board of Trade Building represents the headquarters of Wayne Enterprises,[66] but in the 2008 sequel, The Dark Knight, Wayne Enterprises was represented by the Richard J. Daley Center.[67] The building itself appears in The Dark Knight.[68]

While maintaining studios in the building for many years, WCIU-TV broadcast the Stock Market Observer, a daily seven-hour live business television news program that is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the show telecast the most hours.[69] Additionally, the station broadcasts First Business with news of the Chicago Board of Trade. Former WVON-AM radio personality Don Cornelius began the popular dance show Soul Train in a cramped studio on the 43rd floor in 1970. When Cornelius moved the show to Los Angeles a year later, his assistant, Clinton Ghent took over the local show until it ended in 1976. Prior to Soul Train, shows filmed in the building were Kiddie A Go-Go, a dance show aimed at the pre-teen market which premiered in 1965 and Red Hot and Blues, a teen dance show hosted by local DJ Big Bill Hill which premiered in 1967.[70] More recently, the building's interior and exterior portrayed the offices of the Daily Planet newspaper in the 2013 Superman reboot film, Man of Steel.[71]

Although depicted with the tower in a Rand McNally map from 1893, later lithographs of the first 141 Jackson Street location display a red-roofed building without a tower. Memorabilia of the current building is abundant, with postcards of panoramic scenes from LaSalle Street, the clock, and lighted upper decks having been produced for decades. In views from the Museum Campus, the building's crown is framed by the middle floors of the taller Sears Tower in the background. Photographer Andreas Gursky has used the location for still life prints such as 1997's Chicago Board of Trade, I and 1999's Chicago Board of Trade, II. A photograph of the exterior, from the Museum series by Thomas Struth, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. An often-reproduced painting by Leslie Ragan for the New York Central Railroad depicts streamliner locomotives idling at LaSalle Street Station with the Board of Trade Building looming prominently in the background.[72]

At 1211 North LaSalle Street on the city's Near North Side, a 16-story apartment hotel built in 1929 and converted into an apartment building in 1981 was used by muralist Richard Haas for trompe-l'œil murals in homage to Chicago School architecture. One of the building's sides features the Chicago Board of Trade Building, intended as a reflection of the actual building two miles (3 km) south.[73][74][75]


how far is summerville south carolina from charleston

U.S. Route 78 passes near the center of Summerville, leading southeast 24 miles (39 km) to downtown Charleston and northwest 29 miles (47 km) to Interstate 95 at St. George. Interstate 26 leads through the northeast corner of Summerville with access from Exit 199, leading southeast to Charleston and northwest 90 miles (140 km) to Columbia.

Summerville, South Carolina

Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Summerville at the 2010 census was 43,392,[3] and the estimated population was 50,213 as of June 1, 2018.

The center of Summerville is in southeastern Dorchester County; the town extends northeast into Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is bordered to the east by the town of Lincolnville and to the southeast by the city of North Charleston. The Summerville town limits extend south as far as the Ashley River next to Old Fort Dorchester State Historical Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 18.1 square miles (47.0 km2), of which 18.0 square miles (46.7 km2) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.62%, is water.[3]

As of the census[1] of 2010, there were 43,392 people residing in 16,181 households in the town.
The population density of Summerville is 2,404.7 inhabitants per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 72.1% White, 21.4% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population.

There were 16,181 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55.

In the town, 27.0% of the population was under the age of 18, and 10.5% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.7 years.

The median income for a household in the town was $54,677.  About 11.2% of the population was below the poverty line.  The median value of an owner-occupied home was $182,000.

The town has an abundance of affordable houses and lower taxes than cities such as Charleston and North Charleston, and has thus experienced rapid population growth. In 2007, it was designated a principal city of the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area[5] Summerville is also included as part of the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized area. Dorchester School District Two is the school district for Summerville and the wider area, and is based in the town.

The first settlement in Summerville began following the American Revolutionary War; it was referred to as Pineland Village in 1785. Development in the area resulted from plantation owners who resided in the Charleston area, and who came to Summerville to escape seasonal insects and swamp fever.[6]

Summerville became an official town in 1847. In that year, the town passed a law against cutting down trees of  sizes, the first of such laws in the United States, and a $25 fine was issued upon any who did so without permission. Today, the motto upon the town's official seal reads "Sacra Pinus Esto (The Pine is Sacred)." [7]

In 1899, the International Congress of Physicians (or "Tuberculosis Congress"[6]) listed Summerville to be one of the two best areas in the world for treatment and recovery of lung and throat disorders. It received such notation due to its dry and sandy location, and the many pine trees in the area that release turpentine derivatives into the air. This notation is credited with aiding the commercial and residential development of Summerville.[7]

The Summerville post office contains a mural, Train Time â€“ Summerville, painted  by Bernadine Custer. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department.[8]

The Ashley River Road, Middleton Place, Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery, and the Summerville Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[9]

Starting in 1972, the town of Summerville has supported the Summerville Family YMCA in hosting the annual Flowertown Festival to support health and wellness programs at the YMCA.[10]  It is the largest arts and crafts festival in South Carolina. It is held during the last weekend of March or the first weekend of April in the Summerville Azalea Park. It will often coincide with the Annual Cooper River Bridge Run that is held in Charleston the same weekend.  During the three days of the Flowertown Festival, Summerville will see approximately 200,000 visitors.  Admission and parking is free to all who attend. There is no alcohol or pets permitted at the festival.  Approximately 200 artist from around the country are invited and will have their works on display for purchase.  Additionally, area restaurants are featured in the "Taste" section of the festival where tickets can be purchased to sample their offerings. Children can enjoy the carnival in the Children's Jubilee/Kids Fest section of the festival.

In 1925, these flowers led Summerville's Chamber of Commerce to adopt the slogan "Flower Town in the Pines."

Summerville claims the title "The Birthplace of Sweet Tea."[11] However, a recipe for sweet iced tea published in Texas native Marion Cabell's 1879 cookbook, Housekeeping in Old Virginia has been cited as evidence against this claim.[12]


the former portuguese colony that is now a special administrative region of china is

Macau was formerly a colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. Originally governing under Chinese authority and sovereignty, Portugal was given perpetual occupation rights for Macau in 1887. Macau remained under Portuguese control until 1999, when it was returned to China. As a special administrative region, Macau maintains a separate political and economic system apart from mainland China.[5]

Macau

Macau (Chinese: 澳門, Cantonese: [ōu.mǔːn], /məˈkaʊ/ ( listen); Portuguese: Macau), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the western side of the Pearl River estuary in East Asia. Along with Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and several other major cities in Guangdong, the territory forms a core part of the Pearl River Delta metropolitan region, the most populated area in the world. With a population of 650,900[3] in an area of 30.5 km2 (11.8 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world.

Macau is the gambling capital of the world.[6][7][8] Its economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, with the largest gaming revenue since 2006.[9] It has a very high Human Development Index and the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world.[10][11] Macau is among the world's richest regions and its GDP per capita by purchasing power parity was higher than that of any country in the world.[12]

The present Chinese name (Chinese: 澳門; pinyin: Àomén; Cantonese Yale: Oumún) means "Bay Outlet". Macau is otherwise known in Chinese as Haojing (濠鏡, literally "Moat Mirror") or Jinghai (鏡海, literally "Mirror Sea").[13] The name Macau is thought to be derived from the A-Ma Temple (Chinese: 媽閣廟; pinyin: Māgé Miào; Cantonese Yale: Māgok Miuh), a temple built in 1448 dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen.[14] More precisely, the name Macau corresponds to the Chinese name "媽港" (pinyin: Māgǎng), meaning "Mazu Harbor", and referring to the waters adjacent to the Ama Temple.[15]

The history of Macau is traced back to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), when the region now called Macau came under the jurisdiction of Panyu County, Nanhai Prefecture (modern Guangdong).[13] The first recorded Chinese inhabitants of the area were people seeking refuge in Macau from invading Mongols during the Southern Song.[16] Under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), fishermen migrated to Macau from Guangdong and Fujian. The Macau native people were Tanka boat people.

Macau did not develop as a major settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century.[17] In 1513, Jorge Álvares became the first Portuguese to land in China. In 1535, Portuguese traders obtained the rights to anchor ships in Macau's harbours and to carry out trading activities, though not the right to stay onshore.[18] Around 1552–1553, they obtained temporary permission to erect storage sheds onshore, in order to dry out goods drenched by sea water;[19] they soon built rudimentary stone houses around the area now called Nam Van.

In 1557, the Portuguese established a permanent settlement in Macau, paying an annual rent of 500 taels (18.9 kilogramsÂ / 41.6 pounds) of silver.[19] The Portuguese continued to pay an annual tribute up to 1863 in order to stay in Macau.[20]

By 1564, Portugal commanded western trade with India, Japan, and China. In 1631 the Chinese restricted Portuguese commerce in China to the port of Macau.[21]

During the 17th century, some 5,000 slaves lived in Macau, in addition to 2,000 Portuguese and 20,000 Chinese.[22][23][24]

As more Portuguese settled in Macau to engage in trade, they made demands for self-administration; but this was not achieved until the 1840s.[25] In 1576, Pope Gregory XIII established the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau.[26] In 1583, the Portuguese in Macau were permitted to form a Senate to handle various issues concerning their social and economic affairs under strict supervision of the Chinese authority,[27] but there was no transfer of sovereignty.[16]

Macau prospered as a port but it was the target of repeated failed attempts[28] by the Dutch to conquer it in the 17th century. On 24 June 1622, the Dutch attacked Macau in the Battle of Macau, in the hope of turning it into a Dutch possession. The Portuguese repulsed their attack and the Dutch never tried to conquer Macau again. The majority of the defenders were African slaves, with only a few Portuguese soldiers and priests. Captain Kornelis Reyerszoon was commander of the 800-strong Dutch invasion force.[29][30][31][32]

The grieving Dutch Governor Jan Pz. Coen said after the defeat that "The slaves of the Portuguese at Macao served them so well and faithfully, that it was they who defeated and drove away our people there last year", and "Our people saw very few Portuguese" during the battle.[33][34][35][36]

Following the First Opium War (1839–42), Portugal occupied the empty islands of Taipa and Coloane in 1851 and 1864 respectively. On 1 December 1887, the Qing and Portuguese governments signed the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking, under which China ceded the right of "perpetual occupation and government of Macao by Portugal" in compliance with the statements of the Protocol of Lisbon. In return, Macau Government would cooperate with Hong Kong's smuggling trade in Indian opium and China would profit from imposing customs taxes. Portugal was also obliged "never to alienate Macau without previous agreement with China", therefore ensuring that negotiation between Portugal and France (regarding a possible exchange of Macau and Portuguese Guinea with the French Congo) or with other countries would not go forward – so that the British commercial interests would be secured; Macau officially became a territory under Portuguese administration.[16]

In 1928, after the Qing dynasty had been overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution, the Kuomintang (KMT) government officially notified Portugal that it would abrogate the Treaty of Amity and Commerce;[37] the two powers signed a new Sino-Portuguese Friendship and Trade Treaty in place of the abrogated treaty. Changing only a few provisions concerning tariff principles and matters relating to business affairs, the new treaty did not alter the sovereignty of Macau and Portuguese government of Macau remained unchanged.[38]

During World War II, unlike Portuguese Timor, which was occupied by the Japanese in 1942 along with Dutch Timor, the Japanese respected Portuguese neutrality in Macau, but only up to a point. Macau enjoyed a brief period of economic prosperity as the only neutral port in South China after the Japanese had occupied Guangzhou and Hong Kong. In August 1943, Japanese troops seized the British steamer Sian in Macau and killed about 20 guards. The next month they demanded the installation of Japanese "advisors" under the threat of overt military occupation. The result was that a virtual Japanese protectorate was created over Macau.[39]

When it was discovered that "neutral" Macau was planning to sell aviation fuel to Japan, aircraft from the USSÂ Enterprise bombed and strafed the hangar of the Naval Aviation Centre on 16 January 1945 to destroy the fuel. American air raids on targets in Macau were also made on 25 February and 11 June 1945.  Following Portuguese government protests, in 1950 the United States paid US$20,255,952 to the government of Portugal.[39]

Between the end of the Pacific War and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Macau served as a safe haven for refugees of the Chinese Civil War.[40]

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Beijing government declared the Sino-Portuguese Treaty invalid as an "unequal treaty" imposed by foreigners on China. However, Beijing was not ready to settle the treaty question, allowing the maintenance of "the status quo" until a more appropriate time.[41]

Influenced by the Cultural Revolution in mainland China and by general dissatisfaction with Portuguese government, riots broke out in Macau in 1966. In the most serious, the so-called 12-3 incident, 6 people were killed and more than 200 people were injured.[42] On 28 January 1967, the Portuguese government issued a formal apology by means of an "admission of guilt".[43]

Shortly after Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution, which overthrew the Estado Novo dictatorship, the new government determined it would relinquish all its overseas possessions. In 1976, Lisbon redefined Macau as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration" and granted it a large measure of administrative, financial, and economic autonomy. Three years later, Portugal and China agreed to regard Macau as "a Chinese territory under [temporary] Portuguese administration".[44] The Chinese and Portuguese governments commenced negotiations on the question of Macau in June 1986. The two signed the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration the next year, making Macau one of the special administrative regions of China.[45]

The Chinese government assumed formal sovereignty over Macau on 20 December 1999 as a special administrative region (SAR) after over 400 years of Portuguese colonial rule.[46] This event also marked the end of the Portuguese Empire and European colonialism in Asia. The economy since then has continued to prosper with the sustained growth of tourism from mainland China and the construction of new casinos.[47][48]

The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and Macau Basic Law, Macau's constitution, promulgated by China's National People's Congress in 1993, specify that Macau's social and economic system, lifestyle, rights, and freedoms are to remain unchanged for at least 50 years after the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1999.[49] Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Macau enjoys a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defence and foreign affairs.[49] Macau officials, rather than PRC officials, run Macau through the exercise of separate executive, legislative, and judicial powers, as well as the right to final adjudication.[50] Macau maintains its own currency (the Macanese pataca), customs territory, immigration and border controls and police force.[51][52]

The government in Macau is headed by the Chief Executive of Macau, who is appointed by the central government upon the recommendation of an election committee, whose three hundred members are nominated by corporate and community bodies. The recommendation is made by an election within the committee.[53] The chief executive's cabinet is made up of five policy secretaries and two commissariats and is advised by the Executive Council of Macau, which has between seven and eleven members.[54] Edmund Ho, a community leader and former banker, was the first chief executive of the Macau SAR, replacing General Vasco Rocha Vieira at midnight on 20 December 1999. Fernando Chui is the current Chief Executive.[55] The chief executive and the cabinet have their offices in the Macau Government Headquarters, located in the area of São Lourenço.

The legislative organ of the territory is the Legislative Assembly, a 33-member body comprising 14 directly elected members, 12 indirectly elected members representing functional constituencies and seven members appointed by the chief executive.[56] Any permanent residents at or over 18 years of age are eligible to vote in direct elections.[57] Indirect election is limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" and a 300-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies.[58]

In February 2009, the Legislative Assembly passed the Macau national security law based on a withdrawn security legislation previously introduced in Hong Kong.[59] Democracy advocates feared that the bill's excessively broad scope could lead to abuses, a concern which has been heightened after a number of prominent supporters of democracy in Hong Kong were denied entry into Macau in the run-up to the bill's passage.[60]

The original framework of the legal system, based largely on the Law of Portugal, the Portuguese civil law system, was preserved after 1999. The territory has its own independent judicial system with a High Court independent of both the local Government and the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. Judges are selected by a committee and appointed by the chief executive. Foreign judges may serve on the courts.[61]

The judicial organs of the Macau are the Public Ministry; the Courts of First Instance, which are subdivided into the Basic Judicial Court and Administrative Court; the Court of the Second Instance and the Court of Final Appeal.[62]

The legal system of Macau is essentially based on the model of Portuguese law, and is thus part of the family of continental legal systems (Roman-Germanic). From 1987 to 1999, this legal system was completely modernized with a view to the transfer of sovereignty from Macau to the People's Republic of China. Thus, a number of new laws and codes have been adopted, including the Criminal Code (1995), the Civil Code (1999), the Commercial Code (1999), the Criminal Procedure Code (1996) and the Civil Procedure Code (1999). Following the transition, major reforms in the legal system continued, such as the use of Chinese language in courts and legislations.

From a constitutional point of view, the Macau legal system is characterized by the existence of a text with constitutional force in the Macau SAR, the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region, promulgated by the National People's Congress in 1993. As a rule, the national laws of the People's Republic of China do not apply to Macau, except for those expressly indicated in Annex III of the Basic Law. At present, they are eleven and deal with matters not included in the autonomy of the Special Administrative Region, such as national defense and external relations.

The gambling sector, being a fundamental economic activity for Macau, is subject to a very developed regulation, thus having a good and developed right of the game. There is no death penalty or life imprisonment in Macau, as they are not covered by the Macau Criminal Code.

Under Portuguese rule, Macau often served as an expeditionary base to Japan and other regions of East Asia from the 16th century onwards, while maintaining a strong garrison mainly to repel Dutch and mainland Chinese attacks. However, since the allied British settled Hong Kong, the need for a strong military presence in Macau dimmed and it became limited before ceasing in 1974. However, despite having no Portuguese garrison left on the territory, a small security force managed by the local PSP was kept, which proved useful with the escalating triad warfare tensions towards the last decades of Portuguese administration. Also the Capitania dos Portos kept operating a coast guard and the Portuguese airforce kept airfields active until the opening of Macau International Airport in the mid-1990s. In 1999, upon handover to the PRC, a substantial garrison of the People's Liberation Army was established in the city helping deliver the last blow to the violence perpetrated by the triads, who were weakened by police action and arrests prior to the handover. The garrison remains, with a large portion of the forces stationed in neighbouring Zhuhai as well.

According to the Article 14, Macau Basic Law, The Central People's Government shall be responsible for the defense of the Macau Special Administrative Region. And The Government of the Macau SAR shall be responsible for the maintenance of public order in the Region.

As a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Macau's diplomatic relations and defence are the responsibility of the Central People's Government of the PRC. Except diplomatic relations and defence, nonetheless, Macau has retained considerable autonomy in all aspects, including economic and commercial relations, customs control.

According to Chapter VII of Macau's basic law, Macau may, on its own, using the name Macau, China or Macao, China, maintain and develop relations and conclude and implement agreements with foreign states and regions and relevant international organisations in the appropriate fields, including the economic, trade, financial and monetary, shipping, communications, tourism, cultural, science and technology, and sports fields. In addition,  Macau can participate in international organizations and conferences not limited to states.

The Macau government has maintained offices in Lisbon, Taipei, Beijing and in Brussels for the European Union and Geneva for the World Trade Organization. The Special Administrative Region of Macau is member of the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund as well as other international cultural and commercial organizations.

Macau is divided into 8 parishes.

Macau is situated 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Hong Kong and 145 kilometres (90 mi) from Guangzhou of Mainland China. It also has 41 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline, yet only 310 metres (1,000 ft) of land border with Guangdong of Mainland China.[64][65] It consists of the Macau Peninsula itself and the islands of Taipa and Coloane, which are now connected by landfill forming Cotai. The peninsula is formed by the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xi Jiang (West River) on the west.[65] It borders the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in mainland China. The main border crossing between Macau and China is known as the Portas do Cerco (Barrier Gate) on the Macau side, and the Gongbei Port of Entry on the Zhuhai side.[66]

Lago Nam Van, Macau

View of the casinos from Science Center

View of Taipa from Science Center

East China Sea between Taipa and the Macau Peninsula, Macau

Aerial view of Macau at night

View of the old city in Macau with tenement housing in the foreground

Macau Peninsula was originally an island, but a connecting sandbar gradually turned into a narrow isthmus. Land reclamation in the 17th century transformed Macau into a peninsula with generally flat terrain, though numerous steep hills still mark the original land mass.[65] Alto de Coloane is the highest point in Macau, with an altitude of 170.6 metres (559.7Â ft).[64] With a dense urban environment, Macau has no arable land, pastures, forest, or woodland.

In 2015, the Chinese government assigned Macau administrative responsibility for 85 km2 (33 sq mi) of coastal ocean area.[67]

Macau has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwa), despite its low elevation coastal location south of the Tropic of Cancer, with average relative humidity between 75% and 90%.[68] Similar to much of South China, seasonal climate is greatly influenced by the monsoons, and differences in temperature and humidity between summer and winter are noticeable, though not as great as in mainland China. The average annual temperature of Macau is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F).[69] July is the warmest month, the average temperature being 28.9 °C (84.0 °F). The coolest month is January, with a mean temperature of 14.5 °C (58.1 °F).[68]

Located on China's southern coast, Macau has ample rainfall, with average annual precipitation being 2,120 millimetres (83 in). However, winter is mostly dry due to the influence of the vast Siberian High affecting much of East Asia. Autumn in Macau, from October to November, is sunny and still pleasantly warm with lower humidity. Winter (December to early March) is generally mild with temperatures above 13 °C (55 °F) most of the time, although they can drop below 8 °C (46 °F) at times. Humidity starts to increase from late March. Summer is very warm to hot (often rising above 30 °C (86 °F) during the day). The hot weather is often followed by heavy rain, thunderstorms and occasional typhoons.[68]

Notice that the climate is very similar to Hong Kong's due to proximity.

Macau's economy is based largely on tourism. Other chief economic activities in Macau are export-geared textile and garment manufacturing, banking and other financial services.[74] The clothing industry provides about three quarters of export earnings, and the gambling, tourism and hospitality industry is estimated to contribute more than 50% of Macau's GDP, and 70% of Macau government revenue.[54]

Macau is a founding member of the WTO and has maintained sound economic and trade relations with more than 120 countries and regions, with European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries in particular; Macau is also a member of the IMF.[75] The World Bank classifies Macau as a high income economy[76] and the GDP per capita of the region in 2006 was US$28,436. After the 1999 Handover, China eased travel restrictions and visits from the mainland rose rapidly. Together with the liberalization of Macau's gambling industry in 2001, which induced significant investment inflows, the average growth rate of the economy between 2001 and 2006 was approximately 13.1% annually.[77]

In a World Tourism Organization report of international tourism for 2006, Macau ranked 21st in the number of tourists and 24th in terms of tourism receipts.[78] From 9.1 million visitors in 2000, arrivals to Macau has grown to 18.7 million visitors in 2005 and 22 million visitors in 2006, with over 50% of the arrivals coming from mainland China and another 30% from Hong Kong.[79]

Starting in 1962, the gambling industry had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. The monopoly ended in 2002 and several casino owners from Las Vegas attempted to enter the market. With the opening of the Sands Macao,[80] in 2004 and Wynn Macau in 2006,[81] gambling revenues from Macau's casinos grew considerably prosperous.[82][83][84] In 2007, Venetian Macau, at the time the second (in 2017 is seventh) largest building in the world by floor area, opened its doors to the public, followed by MGM Grand Macau. Numerous other hotel casinos, including Galaxy Cotai Megaresort, opened in 2011,[85] and plans for a $3.9 billion complex that will be known as Lisboa Palace is expected to be completed by 2017.[86]
In February 2015, the gambling revenue in Macao fell by 48.6 percent from a year earlier to 19.5 billion patacas ($2.4 billion), the biggest monthly decline that has ever been recorded. Reasons for this fall of revenue are related to the slowdown that the Chinese economy is having and a corruption crackdown by Chinese officials which has constrained lavish spending.[87]

In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and six casino operating concessions and subconcessions are granted to Sociedade de Turismo e DiversÃµes de Macau, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho (daughter of Stanley Ho), and the partnership of Melco and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL). Today, there are 16 casinos operated by the STDM, and they are still crucial in the casino industry in Macau, but in 2004, the opening of the Sands Macao ushered in the new era.[80][88][89] Gambling revenue has made Macau the world's top casino market, surpassing Las Vegas.[90]

The amount of performances performed in Macau has also shown an increasing trend since the early 2010s, including the show House of Dancing Water,[91] concerts, industry trade shows and international art crossovers.[92]

Macau is an offshore financial centre, a tax haven, and a free port with no foreign exchange control regimes.[93][94][95] The Monetary Authority of Macau regulates offshore finance,[96] while the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute provides services for investment in Macau.[97] In 2007, Moody's Investors Service upgraded Macau's foreign and local currency government issuer ratings to 'Aa3' from 'A1', citing its government's solid finances as a large net creditor. The rating agency also upgraded Macau's foreign currency bank deposit ceiling to 'Aa3' from 'A1'.[98]

As prescribed by the Macau Basic Law, the government follows the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and strives to achieve a fiscal balance, avoid deficits and keep the budget commensurate with the growth rate of its gross domestic product. All financial revenue of the Macau Special Administrative Region shall be managed and controlled by the region itself and shall not be handed over to the Central People's Government. The Central People's Government shall not levy any taxes in the Macau Special Administrative Region.[99]

Sands Casino, Macau

Casino Resort MGM Macau

Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, Macau

City of Dreams

In Macau, the unit of currency is the pataca, which is currently pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at a rate of HK$1Â = MOP1.03.[100] The name pataca is a Portuguese word which was applied to the Mexican dollars that were the main circulating coin in the wider region in the second half of the 19th century. In 1894, the pataca was introduced in both Macau and Portuguese Timor as a unit of account for the Mexican dollar and the other silver dollar coins in circulation. However, the pataca was not the official currency when it was first enacted.[100] In 1901, it was decided to grant the Banco Nacional Ultramarino the exclusive rights to issue banknotes denominated in patacas, and in the year 1906, all foreign coins were outlawed.[100] However, the Chinese were suspicious of these paper patacas, being so accustomed to using silver for barter, and as such, the paper patacas circulated at a discount in relation to the silver dollar coins.[citation needed]In 1935, when China and Hong Kong abandoned the silver standard, the Hong Kong dollar was pegged to sterling at the fixed rate of 1 shilling and 3 pence, whereas the pataca was pegged to the Portuguese escudo at a sterling equivalent rate of only 1 shilling. From 1945 to 1951, fractional coins of the pataca were minted for issue in Portuguese Timor; and, in 1952, similar issues were minted for Macau including an actual pataca coin for the first time.[citation needed]

Macau is the most densely populated region in the world,[101] with a population density of 21,185.28 persons per square kilometre in 2016.[3] Han Chinese make up 95% of Macau's population; another 2% is of Portuguese and/or mixed Chinese/Portuguese descent, an ethnic group often referred to as Macanese.[102] According to the 2006 by-census, 47% of the residents were born in mainland China, of whom 74.1% were born in Guangdong and 15.2% in Fujian. Meanwhile, 42.5% of the residents were born in Macau, and those born in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Portugal shared 3.7%, 2.0% and 0.3% respectively.[102]

The growth of population in Macau mainly relies on immigrants from mainland China and the influx of overseas workers since its birth rate is one of the lowest in the world.[103] According to The World Factbook, Macau has the fourth highest life expectancy in the world,[10] while its infant mortality rate ranks among the lowest in the world.[104]

Macau's official languages are Chinese (Cantonese) and Portuguese.[105][106]
Macau still retains its own dialect of Portuguese, called Macanese Portuguese. Other languages—such as Mandarin, English, and Hokkien—are spoken by local communities.[107] The Macanese language, a distinctive creole generally known as Patuá, is still spoken by several dozen Macanese.[108]

Since Macau has an economy driven by tourism, 14.6% of the workforce is employed in restaurants and hotels, and 10.3% in the gambling industry.[107] With the opening of several casino resorts and other major constructions underway, many sectors reportedly experience a shortage of labour, and the government seeks to import labour from neighbouring regions.

The number of imported workers stood at a record high of 98,505 in the second quarter of 2008, representing more than 25% of the labour force in Macau.[109] Some local workers complain about the lack of jobs due to the influx of cheap imported labour. Some also claim that the problem of illegal labour is severe.[110] Another concern is the widening of income inequality in the region. Macau's Gini coefficient, a popular measure of income inequality where a low value indicates a more equal income distribution, rose from 0.43 in 1998 to 0.48 in 2006. It is higher than those of neighbouring regions, such as mainland China (0.447), South Korea (0.316) and Singapore (0.425).[111]

Macau residents are endowed with considerable religious tolerance and freedom. Most Chinese in Macau are profoundly influenced by their own tradition and culture. While most are not religiously affiliated, many take part in Chinese folk religion (Taoism and Confucianism).[54] According to a survey conducted in 2005, 2007 and 2009, 55% of the population do not declare religious affiliation, 30% follows folk faiths, 10% are adherents of Buddhism or Taoism, and the remaining 5% are Christians.[112][113] Most Christians in Macau are members of the Catholic Church, which is organized and structured in Macau in the Diocese of Macau.

A fifteen-year free education is currently being offered to residents, that includes a three-year kindergarten, followed by a six-year primary education and a six-year secondary education. The literacy rate of the territory is 93.5%. The illiterates are mainly among the senior residents aged 65 or above; the younger generation, for example the population aged 15â€“29, has a literacy rate of above 99%.[102] Currently, there is only one school in Macau where Portuguese is the medium of instruction, Macau Portuguese School.

Macau does not have its own region-wide education system; non-tertiary schools follow either the British, the Chinese, Portuguese, or the Canadian education system. There are currently 10 tertiary educational institutions in the region, four of them being public.[54] In 2006, the Programme for International Student Assessment, a worldwide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance coordinated by OECD, ranked Macau as the fifth and sixth in science and problem solving respectively.[114] Nevertheless, educational attainment in Macau is relatively low when compared to other high income countries. According to the 2006 by-census, among the resident population aged 14 and above, only 51.8% has a secondary education and 12.6% has a tertiary education.[102]

As prescribed by the Macau Basic Law Chapter VI Article 121, the Government of Macau shall, on its own, formulate policies on education, including policies regarding the educational system and its administration, the language of instruction, the allocation of funds, the examination system, the recognition of educational qualifications, and the system of academic awards so as to promote educational development. The government shall also in accordance with law, gradually institute a compulsory education system. Community organizations and individuals may, in accordance with law, run educational undertakings of various kinds.[99]

Macau is served by one major public hospital, the Hospital Conde S. Januário, and one major private hospital, the Kiang Wu Hospital, both located in Macau Peninsula, as well as a university associated hospital called Macau University of Science and Technology Hospital in Cotai. In addition to hospitals, Macau also has numerous health centres providing free basic medical care to residents. Consultation in traditional Chinese medicine is also available.[115]

None of the Macau hospitals are independently assessed through international healthcare accreditation. There are no western-style medical schools in Macau, and thus all aspiring physicians in Macau have to obtain their education and qualification elsewhere.[54] Local nurses are trained at the Macau Polytechnic Institute and the Kiang Wu Nursing College.[116][117] Currently there are no training courses in midwifery in Macau.[citation needed] A study by the University of Macau, commissioned by the Macau SAR government, concluded that Macau is too small to have its own medical specialist training centre.[118]

The Macau Corps of Firefighters (Portuguese: Corpo de Bombeiros de Macau) is responsible for ambulance service (AmbulÃ¢ncia de Macau). The Macau Red Cross also operates ambulances (Toyota HiAce vans) for emergency and non-emergencies to local hospitals with volunteer staff. The organization has a total of 739 uniformed firefighters and paramedics serving from 7 stations in Macau.[119]

The Health Bureau in Macau is mainly responsible for coordinating the activities between the public and private organizations in the area of public health, and assure the health of citizens through specialized and primary health care services, as well as disease prevention and health promotion.[120] The Macau Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was established in 2001, which monitors the operation of hospitals, health centres, and the blood transfusion centre in Macau. It also handles the organization of care and prevention of diseases affecting the population, sets guidelines for hospitals and private healthcare providers, and issues licences.[121]

As of  2016[update] Macau healthcare authorities send patients to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong in instances where the local Macau hospitals are not equipped to deal with their scenarios, and many Macau residents intentionally seek healthcare in Hong Kong because they place more trust in Hong Kong doctors than in Mainland-trained doctors operating in Macau.[118]

In Macau, traffic drives on the left, unlike in either mainland China or Portugal, but like neighbouring Hong Kong. Macau has a well-established public transport network connecting the Macau Peninsula, Cotai, Taipa Island and Coloane Island. Buses and taxis are the major modes of public transport in Macau. Currently three companies – Transmac, Transportas Companhia de Macau and Macau Nova Era de Autocarros Públicos operate franchised public bus services in Macau.[122] The trishaw, a hybrid of the tricycle and the rickshaw, is also available, though it is mainly for sightseeing purposes. The newest public bus operator, Macau Nova Era, previously Reolian Public Transport Co., entered service on 1 August 2011. This new bus operator operates on the existing routes by Transmac and Transportas Companhia de Macau. Free Casino Shuttle Buses are everywhere in Macau. Due to tourism being the main economic industry in Macau a majority of the larger hotels provide free round trip shuttle bus services which cover the major tourist sites including the airport, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal and other sites. Some Larger hotels such as Venetian Hotel and Holiday Inn even provide a free shuttle between them. The frequency for each route is usually 15 minutes.

The taxi system is noted for having a notoriously poor reputation among tourists and even locals. Common complaints include "constant overcharging, refusal of passengers when the destination or passenger type does not suit the driver, circuitous routes and even violent behaviour."[123] In recent years, the Macau government have been making attempts to hold drivers to a higher standard of service through methods such as undercover police prosecuting drivers who violate the taxi regulations on the spot.[124]

The Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and the Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal provides cross-border transportation services for passengers travelling between Macau and Hong Kong, while the Yuet Tung Terminal in the Inner Harbour serves those travelling between Macau and cities in mainland China, including Shekou and Shenzhen.[125]

The Macau Light Rapid Transit or Macau LRT also known as Metro Ligeiro de Macau is a mass transit system in Macau under construction. It will serve the Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Cotai, serving major border checkpoints such as the Border Gate, the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, the Lotus Bridge Border and the Macau International Airport. It is planned to open in 2019.

Macau has one active international airport, known as Macau International Airport located at the eastern end of Taipa and neighbouring waters. The airport used to serve as one of the main transit hubs for passengers travelling between mainland China and Taiwan, but now with the introduction of direct flights between those two regions, passenger traffic in this regard has lessened.[126][127] It is the primary hub for Air Macau. In 2006, the airport handled about 5 million passengers.[128]

The mixing of the Chinese and Portuguese cultures and religious traditions for more than four centuries has left Macau with an inimitable collection of holidays, festivals and events. The biggest event of the year is the Macau Grand Prix in November,[129] when the main streets in Macau Peninsula are converted to a racetrack bearing similarities with the Monaco Grand Prix. Other annual events include Macau Arts festival in March, the International Fireworks Display Contest in September, the International Music festival in October and/or November, and the Macau International Marathon in December.

The Lunar Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival and celebration normally takes place in late January or early February.[130] The Pou Tai Un Temple in Taipa is the place for the Feast of Tou Tei, the Earth god, in February. The Procession of the Passion of Our Lord is a well-known Roman Catholic rite and journey, which travels from Saint Austin's Church to the Cathedral, also taking place in February.[65]

A-Ma Temple, which honours the Goddess Matsu, is in full swing in April with many worshippers celebrating the A-Ma festival. In May it is common to see dancing dragons at the Feast of the Drunken Dragon and twinkling-clean Buddhas at the Feast of the Bathing of Lord Buddha. In Coloane Village, the Taoist god Tam Kong is also honoured on the same day.[65] Dragon Boat festival is brought into play on Nam Van Lake in June and Hungry Ghosts' festival, in late August and/or early September every year. All events and festivities of the year end with Winter Solstice in December.

Macau preserves many historical properties in the urban area. The Historic Centre of Macau, which includes some twenty-five historic locations, was officially listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 15 July 2005 during the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Durban, South Africa.[131]

Local cooking in Macau consists of a blend of Cantonese and Portuguese cuisines. Many unique dishes resulted from the spice blends that the wives of Portuguese sailors used in an attempt to replicate European dishes. Its ingredients and seasonings include those from Europe, South America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, as well as local Chinese ingredients.[132] Typically, Macanese food is seasoned with various spices and flavours including turmeric, coconut milk, cinnamon and bacalhau, giving special aromas and tastes.[133] Famous dishes include minchi, capella, galinha à Portuguesa, galinha à Africana (African chicken), bacalhau, Macanese chili shrimps and stir-fry curry crab. Pork chop bun, ginger milk and Portuguese-style egg tart are also very popular in Macau.[134]

Macau has its own professional football league, the Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol, where the Big Three professional football clubs of Portugal have their own branches: S.L. Benfica de Macau, Sporting Clube de Macau and F.C. Porto de Macau.
In general, football (soccer) has the greatest popularity in Macau, which has a representative international side, Macau national football team. Another common sport is rink hockey, which is often practised by the Portuguese. The national team of Macau is the most powerful of Asia, always participates in the Rink Hockey World Championship in B category and has many Rink Hockey Asian Championship titles. The last Championship was won in Lishui, Zhejiang, at the 2016 Asian Roller Hockey Championship. Macau also has a basketball team, which qualified for the Asian Basketball Championship twice.

The automobile racing event Macau Grand Prix is arguably the most important international sporting event in Macau, mainly with Formula 3, motorcycle road racing and touring car races.

Since 1989, Macau owns a thoroughbred horse racing track called Taipa Racecourse operated by the Macau Jockey Club.  The racecourse has a 15,000 seater grandstand.

Macau is twinned with:[135]


where is the grantley adams international airport located

Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) (IATA: BGI, ICAO: TBPB) is the international airport of Barbados, located in Seawell, Christ Church. It is the only designated port of entry for persons arriving and departing by air in Barbados and operates as a major gateway to the Eastern Caribbean. The airport has direct service to destinations in the United States, Canada, Central America and Europe and serves as the second hub for LIAT. In 2016, the airport was the 8th busiest airport in the Caribbean region; and the third busiest airport in the Lesser Antilles; after Queen Beatrix International Airport located in Aruba, and Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport located in the Republic of France within the island of Guadeloupe. GAIA, also remains an important air-link for cruise ship passengers departing and arriving at the Port of Bridgetown,[6] and a base of operations for the Regional Security System (RSS), and the Regional (Caribbean) Police Training Centre.

Grantley Adams International Airport

The airport's former name was Seawell Airport before being dedicated posthumously in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams in 1976. The airport's timezone is GMT âˆ’4 and is in World Area Code region No. 246 (by the US Department of Transportation). It was a hub for now-defunct Barbadian carriers Caribbean Airways[7] and REDjet, the home for the charter carrier West Indies Executive Air, and former home to the flight training school Coconut Airways.

Grantley Adams International Airport lies 12.9 km (8.0 mi) from the centre of the capital city Bridgetown, in an area officially known as Seawell. This is contrary to most information services stating the airport as being inside the capital. Grantley Adams Airport is the main air transportation hub for the Eastern Caribbean.

The terrain is relatively flat and quite suburban. The airport lies in the south-eastern portion of parish of Christ Church, close to the southern tip of the island. The airport has easy access to the ABC Highway/highway 7 heading towards the capital and locations to the north and west coast.

The airport has recently undergone a multi-phase US$100 million upgrade and expansion by the government, which added a new arrivals hall adjacent to the prior arrivals/departures terminals. Construction was made slightly more complicated because the airport has to remain open for up to 16 hours per day. Its current infrastructure is supposed to meet the needs of Barbados until at least 2015. The phase III construction project, which is yet to be completed will see changes made to the aeroplane parking configuration.[8]

Air transportation at the site of present-day facility, then known as Seawell Airport, goes back as far as September 1938 when a mail plane from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines landed on the site from Trinidad.[9] At the time there was merely a grassy strip as the runway. The strip was paved some time later and in 1949 the first terminal was built on the site, to replace a shed that was being used. This ushered in the facility being formally known as the Seawell Airport.[citation needed]

During the 1960s the eastern flight-range just south-east of the airport became known as Paragon. This area became the initial base of a 'High Altitude Research Project' known as Project HARP. Project HARP was jointly sponsored by McGill University in Canada and the United States military.[10]

In 1983, the US-sponsored invasion of Grenada prompted the United States to form another agreement with Barbados. As part of the deal, the US expanded a part of the current airport infrastructure. This prepared Grantley Adams Airport to be used as a base.[11] As part of the plan to maintain for lasting stability in Grenada, the United States assisted in the establishment of the Regional Security System (RSS) at the eastern Grantley Adams flight-range. The RSS was (and still is) a security unit focused on providing security for the Eastern Caribbean.

Grantley Adams International Airport, as it is known today, handles most large aircraft including Boeing 747s. The airport was one of the few destinations where British Airways' Concorde aircraft made regularly scheduled flights (and got repairs). The flight time of Concorde from the United Kingdom to Barbados was less than 4 hours.[citation needed] The first Concorde visit to Barbados was in 1977 for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. During the 1980s, the Concorde returned for commercial flights to Barbados and thereafter flew to Barbados during the busy winter season. On 17 October 2011, ZA006, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrived at BGI for testing. This was followed by a 24 October arrival of the Boeing 747-8i for further high humidity environment testing.

Since Grantley Adams International Airport had become a relatively busy airport for such a small island and based on an expected increase in future air traffic[12] the Government of Barbados commenced a US$100 million programme to revamp the airport's infrastructure.[13][14]

Phase I, which is now complete, saw an upgrading of the runways, taxiways, parking aprons, and approach lighting. This phase included the Government of Barbados acquiring private land adjacent to the landing strip to bring the airport into compliance with new international aviation regulations.[13][14]

Phase II (also complete) included adding a new arrivals terminal adjacent to the current building; moving arrivals from the older terminal, renovating the older terminal as a departures facility, and bringing the infrastructure into the new millennium.[13][14]

On 1 June 2007, the Bds$1.7 million Club Caribbean Executive Lounge and Business Centre[15] was opened as an added amenity for business travelers. The centre contains 5,000 sq ft (460 m2) and is on the mezzanine level.[16] The centre is meant to be used by special customers of several airlines at the terminal.[17]

The Phase III expansion had to wait until the completion of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. It envisions the addition of new airport terminal Jetway (gates), new spacious departure lounges much closer to the aeroplanes and air bridges to make connections much easier. Also nearing completion is the expanded duty-free shopping area and restaurants for travelers. In 2010 airport authorities stated that traffic to the airport was up 58%[18] and that a 20-25-year plan[19] was being formed for the facility including an addition to the taxiway and renovation of the cargo facilities up to international standards.

After the expansion project, the airport's arrivals facility was moved to a separate new 70,000-square-foot (6,500Â m2) building adjacent to the previous structure. This allowed the departures area to occupy much of the previous shared structure. The new arrivals terminal was built with five large baggage carousels, along with customs and immigration windows.

Grantley Adams International Airport has two terminal buildings designed to appear as one single continuous structure.

The first structure and oldest is the current departures terminal. This terminal stretches from gates 11–13. Before the 2000–2006 expansion project, the original single terminal building housed both the arrivals and departures facilities. The former layout was divided in two with a few duty-free shops[20] and an open-air area in the middle with trees and other greenery which was open to both halves of the terminal. The new translucent membrane that towers over the airport shows where the old terminal was split in two. Additionally the membrane tent covers the gap between the old and new terminal and gives the appearance of being a single long building.

The new terminal spans gates 1â€“10. The terminal currently has 22 ground-level gates.[21]

The airport is at an elevation of 52 metres (171 ft) above mean sea level.[6][7] It has a single two-mile asphalt paved runway: 09/27 measuring 11,000 by 150 feet (3,353 m × 46 m).[4] The airport has a single east-westerly runway, connected by five taxiway intersections with the aircraft parking area which is adjacent to the main terminals. As a result of the tradewinds that blow from the Atlantic Ocean across Barbados from the east, planes usually land and take-off in an easterly direction. This results in a typical flight path for arriving aircraft along the west coast of Barbados, while departing flights usually fly along the east coast. On relatively rare but not uncommon occurrences, some weather disturbances, such as passing hurricanes or tropical systems, may cause planes to take off or land in a westerly direction such as on 29 August 2010.[22]

TBPB is equipped with VOR/DME[23] and an ILS system. The airport's operating hours are 24-hours.[24]

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Barbados:

Besides the arrivals and departures terminals, Grantley Adams International Airport included provisions for a new cargo building in the 2000â€“06 expansion project. The cargo needs include timely postal services in addition to airline support. The cargo facility is located on the western end of the airport next to the new arrivals building.

The head office of the Barbados Civil Aviation Department is on the airport property.[31] In addition Barbados Meteorological Services,[32] operates a doppler weather radar station at the airport.

Coconut Airways is a fixed-base operator at the airport, where it provides flight training.

To the east of the main Grantley Adams Airport is the 8,534 m2 (91,860 sq ft) site of the British Airways Concorde Museum on the old Spencers Plantation. The museum is part of the new expanded airport grounds. British Airways had granted the Government of Barbados one of their retired Concorde aircraft and BAC/SNIAS Concorde 212 G-BOAE is now on permanent display in a dedicated hall. The Q2 company had entered a museum and exhibition facility design to the Government of Barbados for this new permanent housing of the aircraft. The 'Concorde Experience' has zones providing information on the aircraft.

On 2 November 1977 G-BOAE was the same aircraft that Queen Elizabeth II traveled flying from GAIA to London Heathrow, England. That occasion was the first visit by Concorde to Barbados.[37]

"Alpha Echo" was the last Concorde to fly supersonic on 17 November 2003, on its delivery flight to Barbados.[38]


what is the meaning of the somg this is america

The song's theme is a positive interpretation of the history of immigration to the United States, both during the early 1900s and today. Combining Diamond's typically powerful melody, dynamic arrangement, and bombastic vocal, it ends with an interpolation of the traditional patriotic song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee". In Diamond's concerts, the song is a very popular number both home and abroad, with a large United States flag often displayed from the rafters on cue to the lyric, "Every time that flag's unfurled / They're coming to America."[citation needed] The song was featured at the Stone Mountain Laser Show near Atlanta, Georgia.[3]

America (Neil Diamond song)

"America" (also known as "They're Coming to America" or "Coming to America") is a patriotic song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond, released in 1980 on the soundtrack album of Diamond's film The Jazz Singer. The song was a hit single in the United States in 1981, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Diamond's sixth number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.[1] Billboard also rated it as the #62 pop single overall for 1981.[2] Although the single version was a studio recording, it sounds live because of crowd overdubs in the song.

The song has been used in a number of contexts, including as a theme song for Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign and in promotion of the 1996 Olympics. Diamond also sang it at the centennial re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty.[4]

Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Diamond modified the lyrics to "America" slightly during live performances. Instead of "They're comin' to America," towards the end, it became "Stand up for America."[5][6] Despite the song's patriotic message, it was included on a memorandum listing songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel Communications following the September 11 attacks.[7]

"America" was the second song played on WHTZ New York. It was also featured in Born in East L.A. in the scene where dozens of immigrants storm the Mexico-U.S. border and get past the Border Patrol, successfully making it into the U.S.

New-age pianist David Lanz performed a cover of this song for his album Finding Paradise.[15]

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered this song in their 2008 album Have Another Ball.


when did arches national park became a national park

Administered by the National Park Service, the area was originally named a National Monument on April 12, 1929. It was redesignated as a National Park on November 12, 1971.[6]

Arches National Park

Arches National Park is a United States National Park in eastern Utah. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, 4 miles (6Â km) north of Moab, Utah. It is home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations. It contains the highest density of natural arches in the world.[3][4]

The park consists of 76,679 acres (119.811 sq mi; 31,031 ha; 310.31 km2) of high desert located in the Colorado Plateau.[5] Its highest elevation is 5,653 feet (1,723 m) at Elephant Butte, and its lowest elevation is 4,085 feet (1,245 m) at the visitor center. Forty-three arches are known to have collapsed since 1977. The park receives on average 10 inches (250 mm) of rain a year.

The national park lies atop an underground evaporite layer or salt bed, which is the main cause of the formation of the arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths in the area. This salt bed is thousands of feet thick in places, and was deposited in the Paradox Basin of the Colorado Plateau some 300 million years ago when a sea flowed into the region and eventually evaporated. Over millions of years, the salt bed was covered with debris eroded from the Uncompahgre Uplift to the northeast. During the Early Jurassic (about 210 Ma) desert conditions prevailed in the region and the vast Navajo Sandstone was deposited. An additional sequence of stream laid and windblown sediments, the Entrada Sandstone (about 140 Ma), was deposited on top of the Navajo. Over 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of younger sediments were deposited and have been mostly eroded away. Remnants of the cover exist in the area including exposures of the Cretaceous Mancos Shale. The arches of the area are developed mostly within the Entrada formation.[7]

The weight of this cover caused the salt bed below it to liquefy and thrust up layers of rock into salt domes. The evaporites of the area formed more unusual salt anticlines or linear regions of uplift.[7] Faulting occurred and whole sections of rock subsided into the areas between the domes. In some places, they turned almost on edge. The result of one such 2,500-foot (760Â m) displacement, the Moab Fault, is seen from the visitor center.

As this subsurface movement of salt shaped the landscape, erosion removed the younger rock layers from the surface. Except for isolated remnants, the major formations visible in the park today are the salmon-colored Entrada Sandstone, in which most of the arches form, and the buff-colored Navajo Sandstone. These are visible in layer cake fashion throughout most of the park. Over time, water seeped into the surface cracks, joints, and folds of these layers. Ice formed in the fissures, expanding and putting pressure on surrounding rock, breaking off bits and pieces. Winds later cleaned out the loose particles. A series of free-standing fins remained. Wind and water attacked these fins until, in some, the cementing material gave way and chunks of rock tumbled out. Many damaged fins collapsed. Others, with the right degree of hardness and balance, survived despite their missing sections. These became the famous arches.

Although the park's terrain may appear rugged and durable, it is extremely fragile. More than 1 million visitors each year threaten the fragile high desert ecosystem.[8] The problem lies within the soil's crust which is composed of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, and lichens that grow in the dusty parts of the park. Factors that make Arches National Park sensitive to visitor damage include: semiarid region, and the scarce, unpredictable rainfall, lack of deep freezing, and lack of plant litter which results in soils that have both a low resistance to, and slow recovery from, compressional forces such as foot traffic. Methods of indicating effects on the soil are cytophobic soil crust index, measuring of water infiltration, and t-tests that are used to compare the values from the undisturbed and disturbed areas.[9]

Humans have occupied the region since the last ice age 10,000 years ago. Fremont people and Ancient Pueblo People lived in the area up until about 700 years ago. Spanish missionaries encountered Ute and Paiute tribes in the area when they first came through in 1775, but the first European-Americans to attempt settlement in the area were the Mormon Elk Mountain Mission in 1855, who soon abandoned the area. Ranchers, farmers, and prospectors later settled Moab in the neighboring Riverine Valley in the 1880s. Word of the beauty of the surrounding rock formations spread beyond the settlement as a possible tourist destination.

The Arches area was first brought to the attention of the National Park Service by Frank A. Wadleigh, passenger traffic manager of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. Wadleigh, accompanied by railroad photographer George L. Beam, visited the area in September 1923 at the invitation of Alexander Ringhoffer, a Hungarian-born prospector living in Salt Valley. Ringhoffer had written to the railroad in an effort to interest them in the tourist potential of a scenic area he had discovered the previous year with his two sons and a son-in-law, which he called the "Devil's Garden" (known today as the "Klondike Bluffs"). Wadleigh was impressed by what Ringhoffer showed him, and suggested to Park Service director Stephen T. Mather that the area be made a national monument.

The following year, additional support for the monument idea came from Laurence Gould, a University of Michigan graduate student (and future polar explorer) studying the geology of the nearby La Sal Mountains, who was shown the scenic area by local physician Dr. J. W. "Doc" Williams.

A succession of government investigators examined the area, in part due to confusion as to the precise location. In the process, the name "Devil's Garden" was transposed to an area on the opposite side of Salt Valley, and Ringhoffer's original discovery was omitted, while another area nearby, known locally as "The Windows", was included. Designation of the area as a national monument was supported by the Park Service from 1926, but was resisted by President Calvin Coolidge's Interior Secretary, Hubert Work. Finally in April 1929, shortly after his inauguration, President Herbert Hoover signed a presidential proclamation creating Arches National Monument, consisting of two comparatively small, disconnected sections. The purpose of the reservation under the 1906 Antiquities Act was to protect the arches, spires, balanced rocks, and other sandstone formations for their scientific and educational value. The name "Arches" was suggested by Frank Pinkely, superintendent of the Park Service's southwestern national monuments, following a visit to the Windows section in 1925.

In late 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a proclamation which enlarged Arches to protect additional scenic features and permit development of facilities to promote tourism. A small adjustment was made by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1960 to accommodate a new road alignment.

In early 1969, just before leaving office, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a proclamation substantially enlarging Arches. Two years later, President Richard Nixon signed legislation enacted by Congress which significantly reduced the total area enclosed, but changed its status to a National Park.

Climbing on named arches within the park has long been banned by park regulations. Following Dean Potter's successful free climb on the Delicate Arch in May 2006, however, the wording of the regulations was deemed unenforceable by the park attorney. The park revised its regulations as follows in response:

All rock climbing or similar activities on any arch or natural bridge named on the United States Geological Survey 7.5 minute topographical maps covering Arches National Park are prohibited.[11]

Climbing on other features in the park is allowed, but regulated. The revised regulations also prohibit slacklining parkwide. Approved recreational activities include auto touring, backpacking, biking, camping, and hiking, some of which require permits. Guided commercial tours and ranger programs are also available.

Astronomy is also popular in the park due to its dark skies despite the increasing light pollution from towns like Moab.[12][13]

American writer Edward Abbey was a park ranger at Arches National Monument where he kept journals that became his book Desert Solitaire. The success of this book, as well as the rise in adventure-based recreation, has drawn many hikers, mountain-bikers, and off-road enthusiasts to the area, but activities are limited within park boundaries: camping, foot hiking (along designated trails), and driving only along marked roads. The Hayduke Trail, an 825-mile (1,328Â km) backpacking route named after one of Edward Abbey's characters, begins in the park.

Arches National Park was used as one of the filming locations for the 1965 biblical epic film, The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Portions of The Windows section of Arches National Park were used as locations in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Arches National Park is the subject of the third 2014 quarter scheduled as part of the U.S. Mint's America the Beautiful quarters coin program commemorating national parks and historic sites.

There is an abundance of wildlife in Arches. The list includes: spadefoot toad, antelope squirrel, scrub jay, peregrine falcon, many kinds of sparrows, red fox, desert bighorn sheep, kangaroo rat, mule deer, cougar, midget faded rattlesnake, yucca moth, many types of cyanobacteria, Western rattlesnake, and the Western collared lizard.[14]

Plants also dominate the landscape in the park. The list of plants includes: prickly pear cactus, Indian ricegrass, bunch grasses, cheatgrass, lichen, moss, liverworts, Utah juniper, Mormon tea, blackbrush, cliffrose, four-winged saltbrush, pinyon pine, stemless woollybase, evening primrose, sand verbena, yucca, and sacred datura.[15]

Among the notable features of the park are:

View at the entrance of the Park

Balanced Rock During Winter

Delicate Arch, one of the most famous arches in the world

The Delicate Arch through Frame Arch

The Double Arch

Double O Arch

Superior arch of Double O Arch

North Window as viewed from Windows Trails

Pine Tree Arch


who wrote don't leave me this way

"Don't Leave Me This Way" is a song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, an act on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1975, "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later a huge disco hit for Motown artist Thelma Houston in 1977. The song was also a major hit for British group the Communards in 1986.

Don't Leave Me This Way

The Blue Notes' original version of the song, featuring Teddy Pendergrass's lead vocal, was included as an album track on the group's successful album Wake Up Everybody released in November 1975. Though not issued as a single in the United States at the time, the Blue Notes' recording reached number 3 on the US Billboard Disco Chart in the wake of Thelma Houston's version. The song proved to be the group's biggest hit in the UK, number 5 on the UK singles chart, when released there as a single in 1977. It became the title track of a budget LP issued on the CBS Embassy label in the UK in 1978.[1] The track was finally issued as a 12-inch single in the US in 1979, coupled with "Bad Luck".

"Don't Leave Me This Way" was covered by Motown in 1976. Originally assigned to Diana Ross, it was intended to be the follow-up to her hit "Love Hangover" but was reassigned and given to the upcoming Motown artist Thelma Houston instead.

Following the release of her third album Any Way You Like It, a Boston record pool unanimously reported positive audience response to "Don't Leave Me This Way" in discos, and the song was selected for release as a single.[5] Houston's version became a massive international hit, topping the soul singles chart[6] and, nine weeks later, the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in April 1977.  The song peaked at number 13 in the UK.[7] The song went to number one on the disco chart.[8]  Later in the year, it was featured on the soundtrack of the movie, Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 1978, "Don't Leave Me This Way" won the award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards.[9]

Houston's version was revived in 1995 in several remixes, which reached number 19 on the US Billboard Dance Chart and number 35 in the UK.[7] This version got Houston ranked number 86 on VH1's "100 Greatest One-hit Wonders", as well as the number 2 spot on their "100 Greatest Dance Songs" list.

The 1994/1995 remixes are: R&B vs  4:00 | Remix radio vs  4:00 | 7” radio edit  4:00 | Club remix vertigo  5:40 | House club remix  5:40 | Factory team remix  5:50 | U.S. club edit  5:50 | Serious rope club remix  7:10 | Serious rope 7” remix  4:10 | Jazz voice's classic club trax  6:10 | Jazz voice's dub mix  7:35 | Xs'2 house pump mix  7:30 | Joe T. Vanelli dubby mix  8:40 | Joe T. Vanelli light mix  5:20 | Joe T. Vanelli Radio Cut 3:54 | Joe T. Vanelli Extra Dubby 5:17 | Junior sound factory mix  9:30 | Tribe dub (acid vocal)  7:20 | Junior's factory dub  9:30 | Junior gospel dub  7:55 | Junior's Tribe Prank Mix and Radio Edit 3:20.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Houston's version of the song became an unofficial theme song for the AIDS epidemic in gay male communities of the west.  American artist Nayland Blake created a work for American Foundation of AIDS research about the epidemic that referenced the song and its significance in the community. An art exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia entitled "Don't Leave Me This Way - Art in the age of AIDS" opened in 1994 containing various works about the epidemic.  A 246-page publication of the exhibition also followed.[10]

The song was covered by the Communards in a Hi-NRG version. This recording topped the UK charts for four weeks in September 1986, becoming the biggest selling record of the year in the process.[4] The featured guest vocalist was the female jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris.[28] The song became a Top 40 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Dance chart.[29] In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 16th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[30].

Several remixes were issued, notably the "Gotham City Mix" which was split across two sides of a 12" single and ran for a total of 22 minutes 55 seconds.

It was one of the songs played at Burberry’s February 2018 show, presented on 17 February at the Dimco Buildings in West London, marking Christopher Bailey’s final outing for the brand.[31]

The album liner notes dedicate the song to the GLC.

Jeanie Tracy released a cover version of this in 1985 on Megatone Records.

A version of the song is featured in the stage musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert â€“ the Musical during a funeral scene.

Episode 6 of the 2004 BBC miniseries Blackpool featured the Communards version, accompanied on screen by the singing and dancing of the characters, as part of the story.

Cher did a cover of the song during her Las Vegas residency show Cher.

The 2012 song "Lying Together" by French Kiwi Juice samples vocals from Houston's cover.

The song appeared in the 2015 film The Martian directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon.

Bakermat covered the song in 2017 with their single "Baby".