"After completing work on the building for the Macao handover ceremony, we all need a good sleep, " said Li Weiquan, deputy general-manager of the China Machinery Industry Installing Corporation (CMIIC).

The building, covering an area of 6,000 square meters and with a height of 20 meters, is located near the Macao Cultural Center not far away from the Hong Kong-Macao Ferry Terminal.

The structure of the building is made of steel and built by the Beijing-based CMIIC and Jiangmen Machinery Plant in south China's Guangdong Province. Designed by a Portuguese architect, the building would have taken at least five months to complete. "But we got only two and a half months to complete the building. No delay was allowed," Li recalled.

The building's structure, weighing 2,100 tons, is composed of 11,3000 pieces which were welded without employing even a single screw. And the whole work was done under the inspection of Portuguese construction supervisors.

From July 26 to October 8, more than 120 CMIIC workers, including 23 women welders, worked at the construction site round the clock, he said.

"The sunshine in Macao is too strong for mainlanders," Li said, "and only days after the women welders worked on the site, their delicate skins were tanned by the sun."

One day, some of the women welders went shopping only to be rounded up and taken to the police station on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. The women tried to explain their identities, but to no avail, for the police did not believe there are women welders in the world.

Only when CMIIC officials reached the station and proved their identities were they released. After that, the police showed due respect to the women.

The 75 days of sweat and tears brought Li and his colleagues the joy of success. On October 8, construction of the structure was concluded two days ahead of schedule, and passed a quality check on November 17. And they were praised by China's Foreign Ministry, the Sino-Portuguese Joint Liaison Group, and the chief contractor of the project.

The strength of the structure got an unexpected test on September 17 when an especially powerful typhoon hit Macao. Many buildings on the island were heavily damaged and a number of big trees uprooted, but the structure remained intact.