Xiāngshān

Xiangshan lies on the western side of the Pearl River estuary, with waterways leading north to Guangzhou and south towards the sea. Its historical county included the port of Macau, where Chinese and foreign merchants met at the edge of the delta. Portuguese traders settled at Macau in the middle of the sixteenth century, establishing a port connected to Japan, Southeast Asia and India. Chinese officials administered the area through Xiangshan and supervised maritime defence and trade. In 1679, after restrictions on coastal trade, the Qing permitted overland commerce between the mainland and Macau through the border gate.