During the 16th century the small fishing village of Macao developed into a trading hub under the governance of the Portuguese. Goods flowed between Europe, China, and Japan making it into an enormously wealthy city. Traces of that era are still found all over the city. In 1999, after being governed by the Portuguese for over 400 years, Macao became Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. China chose to focus on developing casino gaming/tourist trade, which proved to be quite lucrative. Macao surpassed Las Vegas and is now the largest gambling center in the world.