Hengqin

Chinese
s=横琴岛
t=橫琴島
j=waang4 kum4 dou2
i=wɑŋ₁₁ kʰɐm₁₁ təʊ₃₅
p="Héngqín Dǎo"

Hengqin is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city in the Guangdong Province of People's Republic of China. It is adjacent to Ilha da Taipa and Ilha de Coloane of Macau, and is connected to Cotai via the Lotus Bridge. It has a population of about 3,000.

Hengqin is the largest island among the 146 islands of Zhuhai. Its size is roughly 3 times that of Macau. It has broad bays, sandy beaches, strangely-shaped jagged rocks, beautiful scenery, fresh air, and natural vegetation cover.

Hengqin was formerly made up of two islands, Da Hengqin ( _pt. D. João) and Xiao Hengqin (( _pt. Montanha), which were recently connected as a result of land reclamation. There is a proposal to develop the island into a resort area. The reclaimed island is 96km² (37 square miles). It is home to a residential development marketed for its natural beauty along the shoreline.

Both D. João and Montanha were claimed by Portugal, along with the larger former island of Wanzai (Portuguese: "Lapa") — now a peninsula — to their north, as part of the territory of Macau, because "Portuguese schools are established there." [http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=4402#a20] In 1896, Portuguese determined to occupied the two Henqins, but it was unsuccessful.

Since the land reclamation and development, there has been a growing opinion in Macau that the island should be leased to Macau, where land is very limited and there is little room for further development. By September 1, 2005, plans were revealed that the government of Guangdong Province will allow tax exemptions and adopt flexible immigration control in Hengqin to promote investment from Hong Kong and Macau.

Since late 2005, Las Vegas Sands has openly discussed its multi-billion plans to develop parts of Hengqin Island into a convention and resort destination. The project would include four million sq ft of convention space, hotels, retail, vacation homes, and golf, tennis and yachting amenities. The company is awaiting all the necessary final approvals Las Vegas Sands press release, 1/11/2007] .

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.hengqin.org Hengqin Economic Development Zone]
* [http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=4402 Macau in the Pearl River Delta and Beyond]
* [http://www.econres.com/documents/specialty_Asia.htm International Resorts - Asia Resorts]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=&t=k&ll=22.119994,113.510056&spn=0.095416,0.189514 Satellite image by Google Maps]
* [http://www.hengqin.com Hengqin.com news and resources mostly in Simplified Chinese]
* [http://www.hengqinnet.com Hengqinnet.com news and resources in English]
* [http://www.lasvegassands.com Las Vegas Sands press releases and presentations]