MACAO, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Tuesday held a series of events to celebrate the National Day, including a flag-raising ceremony, a government reception, the opening of the fourth sea-crossing bridge, and a fireworks show.

The flag-raising ceremony was held early in the morning at the Golden Lotus Square.

Ho Iat Seng, the SAR's chief executive, said that the country has always regarded Macao as a "precious gem" and has consistently provided it with the strongest support so that Macao can maintain its prosperity and stability and have maximum opportunities for development.

Ho made the remarks during a reception at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The chief executive noted that in the past five years, the SAR government has steadfastly implemented the "one country, two systems" principle while safeguarding the overall jurisdiction of the central authorities and the country's sovereignty, security, and development interests.

Macao's fourth sea-crossing bridge, the Macao Bridge, officially opened to traffic on Tuesday, connecting the Macao Peninsula to Macao's Taipa.

Ho said at the inauguration ceremony that the iconic bridge would further support the city's efforts to become a world center of tourism and leisure while helping continuously improve the well-being of the Macao residents and promote the city's appropriate economic diversification.

The new bridge, Macao's first eight-lane divided bridge, is approximately 3.1 kilometers long. The water-spanning section is about 2.9 kilometers long and features two spans each of 280 meters across the ship navigation channels.

In the evening, Chinese and Italian companies staged a fireworks show as part of the 32nd Macao International Fireworks Display Contest. According to the tourism office of the SAR government, the contest's organizer, 10 teams from across the world are scheduled to present 10 shows of fireworks from Sept. 14 to Oct. 6. Enditem

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