More than 30,000 people on Sunday morning participated in a grand parade which is aimed at raising public welfare fund for local residents in need.

Led by fluttering colorful flags and human-played lions, groups of people organized by companies, organizations, communities and schools started walking from a football ground and marched toward the A-ma Temple which is three km from the starting point. Nine orchestras from local schools and the Macao police played majestic music along the route.

Macao Governor Vasco Rocha Vieira, Chief Executive-designate of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Edmund Ho Hau Wah, and Xinhua News Agency Macao Branch Director Wang Qiren walked in the front of the parade.

The charity parade was first organized in 1984 by a public welfare fund of the Macao Daily News. Over the past years, it has been held on a Sunday of December each year and become the most popular charity activity in Macao.

Up to now, more than 5.4 million patacas (675,000 US dollars) has been raised this year, according to sources in charge of the fund. During the past years, a total of 71.5 million patacas (8.9 million US dollars) was raised and 55 million patacas was used to assist local residents in difficulty.