the Portuguese presence on the islands dates back to the end of the 17th century when a group of missionaries established themselves on this island.[which?]

According to historical records, the Portuguese presence on the island of Lapa dates back to 1645, when a mandarin from Canton (Guangzhou) authorised the burial of the Jesuit priest João Rodrigues in recognition of his service.

In 1941, the Japanese Army threatened the Portuguese troops to force abandonment of these sparsely populated islands.

The Lotus Bridge makes the connection between Hengqin of Guangdong province and Cotai of Macau Special Administrative Region.

There are proposals to develop sparsely populated Hengqin into a tourist area with many hotels and luxury resorts.

Macau, due to lack of land, expressed their desire to annex the island of Hengqin to the Chinese Central Government, which was subsequently denied by Beijing.

However, on September 1, 2005, the Central Government allowed entrepreneurs from Macau and Hong Kong to be exempt from the payment of some taxes and fees.