A stunning aerial lion dance performance was held on an outdoor 233-meter-high platform at the Macao Tower in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its return to the motherland. Accompanied by the rhythmic beats of drums, the artists performed the lion dance to express their jubilance and blessings for the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to China.
Performing at such a high altitude, the dancers took on a significant challenge, embodying the spirit of mettle and tenacity in tiding over adversity.
With impressive valor and vigor, the performers circled the Macao Tower in just a few minutes, symbolizing the seismic change of Macao by sharing weal and woes with the motherland in the past 25 years since its return while painting a rosy and bright future.
The Chinese lion dance is widely cherished in Macao, especially following the city's return to the motherland when the SAR began prioritizing its promotion and preservation. Since then it has evolved from street performance into a popular sport, with many students engaged in training from a young age to carry on this traditional Chinese culture. In 2020, the lion dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Macao.
Macao stages aerial lion dance to mark 25th anniversary of return to China
Macao stages aerial lion dance to mark 25th anniversary of return to China
Macao stages aerial lion dance to mark 25th anniversary of return to China
The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a key decision made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, has made significant strides over the past years. This has been exemplified by the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Zhuhai City, south China's Guangdong Province, which has become a model for policy alignment and infrastructure connectivity between the two places.
The cooperation zone, located in Hengqin, an island located just across the water from the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), was established in 2021 by the Chinese central government to foster closer integration between Guangdong and Macao.
It has become a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, hosting nearly 6,500 Macao-invested enterprises and providing a platform for new industries.
However, Hengqin was completely different until the central government decided in 2009 to develop the Hengqin New Area, the predecessor of the cooperation zone, with an aim of exploring opportunities for Macao's economic diversification.
Xi, who was then Chinese vice president, made the announcement during a visit to Macao in the same year.
Since then, the island has experienced rapid development, which left a deep impression on President Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, during his visit to Hengqin in 2018.
"When General Secretary Xi visited Hengqin in 2018, he was deeply impressed upon seeing a modernized island city," said Niu Jing, former Party secretary of Hengqin New Area.
"It could be said that the establishment of Hengqin New Area was driven by Macao. In 2018, General Secretary Xi visited Hengqin for the fourth time," said Niu.
During his visit, Xi inspected the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao, the first project implemented under the framework agreement on cooperation between Guangdong and Macao.
Xi talked with entrepreneurs from Macao to learn about their development in the mainland.
"General Secretary Xi asked for some details and expressed his concern about whether it was convenient for us to work in Hengqin from Macao, and whether we had good opportunities for growth after coming here. He emphasized the need to enhance the industrialization and modernization of traditional Chinese medicine and promote it to the world. This is exactly what the park and Macao need to work together to achieve," said Gong Un Heong, an entrepreneur from Macao.
Xi stressed the importance of Hengqin's development in driving the long-term prosperity of Macao during his speech at the event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland in December 2019.
"General Secretary Xi said that Hengqin is at the intersection of the 'one country, two systems' practice. He noted that our explorations and practices would provide valuable references for the country's future reforms and opening-up. He encouraged us to make bold trials," said Niu.
The pioneering development of Hengqin plays a crucial role in promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area, which Xi said holds strategic importance in the country's new development pattern.
With his broad vision and profound wisdom, Xi has planned the Greater Bay Area's development.
In December 2012, Xi visited Guangdong in his first inspection trip outside Beijing after the 18th CPC National Congress. He expressed the hope for Guangdong to partner with Hong Kong and Macao to create a more competitive world-class city cluster.
In 2021, China's central authorities issued a general plan for building a Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
According to the plan, the cooperation zone is a major arrangement to enrich the practice of "one country, two systems."
"According to the general plan, we are a pacesetter in the construction of the Greater Bay Area and a new demonstration zone for 'one country, two systems.' The development of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone involves aligning rules and mechanisms to facilitate joint consultation, construction, management, and shared benefits between Guangdong and Macao. We should continually reflect on how to leverage Macao's strengths to meet the country's needs and how to better integrate into the country's overall development," said Su Kun, deputy director of the executive committee of the cooperation zone.
To support the development of the Greater Bay Area, more than 230 policy documents and 110 standards had been introduced by 2023.
"It is necessary to seize the major historical opportunities in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, promote the convergence of rules and mechanisms for the economic operation of the three places, speed up the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area intercity railway, promote the efficient and convenient flow of personnel, goods and other elements, and enhance the level of market integration," said Xi at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in October 2020.
The fast-growing bay area consists of nine cities in Guangdong and the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.
Thanks to the promotion of hard connectivity of infrastructure and soft connectivity of institutions and rules, that area has seen increasingly closer connections, exemplified by major projects such as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link.
With less than 1 percent of the country's land area and fewer than 5 percent of its total population, the Greater Bay Area generates over 10 percent of the country's GDP.
The fast development of the Greater Bay Area also facilitates many entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao to work and live in the mainland.
"I started my business in Hengqin because I have confidence in its development, which can provide opportunities for traditional Chinese medicine to go global," said Gong.
"Our entire family has moved to Hengqin, and my workplace is in Macao. But I think it is very convenient," said Leong Lai Si, a resident of Macao New Neighborhood in the cooperation zone.
"The entrepreneurial atmosphere in the Greater Bay Area is thriving, with highly favorable conditions for starting a business. There are many opportunities here that were previously unavailable in Macao," said Ng Hong Kei, a young entrepreneur from Macao.
Some others believe that the Greater Bay Area has provided them with a great opportunity to showcase their talents on a broader stage and make greater contribution to the country's development.
"If the country hadn't provided us with such an opportunity, how could people from Hong Kong and Macao start businesses in the mainland? How could we have the chance to work in the Greater Bay Area and contribute our efforts to the nation?" said Chan Wa Keong, chairman of the Macao Legal System Research Association.
Greater Bay Area makes significant strides under Xi's leadership
