China and Portugal will soon start holding the official ceremony for the transfer of power of Macao to China at the garden of the Macao Cultural Center.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio will lead their respective government delegations to the ceremony, which is scheduled to last about 35 minutes.

As the midnight approaches, the Portuguese national flag and the Macao municipal council flag, both are flying here, will be lowered at the handover ceremony.

The red five-star Chinese national flag will be raised at zero hour sharp of December 20 together with the green Macao Special Administrative Region's regional flag with the design of a lotus, symbolizing China's resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Macao and announcing the end of the Portuguese long occupation of the region.

Some 2,500 distinguished guests who came to attend the handover ceremony have been entering the handover venue. They have come from various countries and regions, include representatives of

international organizations, members of the Chinese mainland viewing delegation attending the Macao's return celebrations, representatives of overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese

origin, people from Hong Kong and Taiwan and various sectors of Macao.

The rostrum is covered with green carpet with two silver-color masts standing on both sides. The Portuguese national flag and the Macao municipal council flag are hanging on the mast on the left side.

In the center of the rostrum are five chairs on each side of the main podium for the leading delegates of China and Portugal.

The venue for the handover ceremony at the Cultural Center covers an area of about 6,000 square meters and the structure is 20 meters high. Some Parts of the exterior wall of the upper half of the structure was built with crystal materials. All the lights at the venue are on and the whole structure looks like a huge lantern full of grandeur.

Some 3,500 press people from across the world are here, covering the activities centering on Macao's return to China. The China Central Television (CCTV) televises live all the major

activities to the world on channel 4 for 36 consecutive hours beginning 09:00 hours today.