Governor Vasco Rocha Vieira bid farewell to Santa Sancha Palace, the exclusive residence of governors of Macao since 1937 this afternoon at 4:30 and then headed for Praia Grande Palace, the governor's office.

The governor has administered Macao on behalf of Portugal for eight years. His farewell to the residence, located at Penha Hill, marks an end to the Portuguese rule over the Chinese territory.

The outgoing governor, who looked solemn and was dressed in dark blue suit, spent about five minutes shaking hands and bidding farewell to the staff working at the Santa Sancha Palace, before boarding his limousine. As the car started moving, the governor waved farewell to the seeing-off staff through the window.

Later, the governor will attend the flag-lowering ceremony in front of the Praia Grande Palace, a ceremony held for every governor prior to their departure. But this time, it will be the last such ceremony for a Portuguese governor of Macao.

Since 1623, Portugal has assigned 127 governors to Macao, which has been Chinese territory for thousands of years.

As the last Portuguese representative and supreme ruler in Macao, Vasco Rocha Vieira has contributed to the smooth cooperation on the settlement of Macao Question between Portugal

and China.

Later today, the Portuguese side will hold a series of activities before leaving the territory, which include a cocktail party and outdoor art performance, a dinner banquet, and the

midnight lowering of the Portuguese national flag at the handover ceremony.

On the early morning of December 20, at 1:45, the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of the People's Republic of China will be founded and the MSAR Government headed by Edmund Ho Hau

Wah will take over the power to administer the territory. (Xinhua)