Fireworks celebrating New Year's Day illuminate the Macao Tower. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

MACAO — Festive events, such as countdown parties, performance galas and interactive community installations, lit up the New Year celebrations in Macao Special Administrative Region.

At the Sai Van Lake Square and the Taipa Houses Museum, crowds gathered on New Year's Eve for songs and performances by local and international musicians alike, cheering "Happy New Year!" as fireworks blossomed over the landmark Macao Tower at midnight.

The New Year countdown gig, staged for the seventh time in Macao by Jiangsu Satellite Television, again saw pop stars from home and abroad elicit screams and thunderous applause from fans.

"To me, Macao has truly lived up to its reputation as a city of performances," says a college student surnamed Sun from southwest China's Chongqing municipality who came to Macao specifically for the shows.

During the three-day New Year holiday, tourists from home and abroad flocked into Macao for its festive welcome, with long queues emerging at border ports between Macao and its neighboring mainland city of Zhuhai.

Visitors soak up the New Year atmosphere at the Senado Square. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Data from the Macao Government Tourism Office shows visitor arrivals in Macao on New Year's Eve reached 175,030, a record high daily number since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Total visitor arrivals in 2023 reached 2.23 million, recovering to around 70 percent of the 2019 level.

The office says visitor arrivals in Macao kept rising in 2023 after customs clearance fully recovered, which proved Macao's attractiveness as a world tourism and leisure destination.

The tourism office also joins hands with major local enterprises to present romantic and colorful, interactive light installations, illuminating the entire city with dazzling and charming shows and turning it into a unique late-night paradise.

At the Mount Fortress garden in the city center, multiple large-scale festival installations and dazzling lighting decorations, including a flashing giant bear and a 7-meter-tall Santa Claus — accompanied by romantic snowfall, colorful light shows and live music performances every night — captured the hearts of visitors and residents alike.

"I found Macao very busy and lively this holiday, with rich festive decorations and food," says one tourist from Zhuhai.

Warm weather also returned to Macao during the holiday after the cold snap of previous days, encouraging more locals to go out and enjoy the sunshine along the city's long coastline.

"I wish for a better year ahead, not just for my family, but also for Macao and our country," says a resident surnamed Qu who was busy barbecuing on Macao's unique black sand beach.