Patriotic Hong Kong residents take photos with national flags at the Golden Bauhinia Square on Saturday. Photo: Chen Qingiqing/GT

As Tuesday marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, residents in Hong Kong and Macao organized various activities to celebrate and express their strong love for the motherland. 

On Saturday, some university students organized a flash mob at Golden Bauhinia Square around 10:45 am, waving Chinese national flags and chanting "Happing birthday motherland!" 

Alice, one of the organizers, told the Global Times she comes from the Education University of Hong Kong, and organized this flash mob not without difficulties. 

"Some of my classmates are anti-government protesters, and are against such activities. But we are not afraid of being attacked," she said. 

Months of social turbulence has not stopped residents in Hong Kong from sharing a festive mood as the anniversary looms. Global Times reporters saw Chinese flags and banners in areas such as Wan Chai and Admiralty.

A group of 17 amateur hikers also climbed to the top of Victoria Peak on Saturday morning, waving flags to celebrate the anniversary. Although the city embraced "the big day" amid social unrest, many Hongkongers still come out to express their best wishes for the motherland. 

Hong Kong residents climb Victoria Peak and wave national flags on Saturday. Photo: Chen Qingiqing/GT

However, local tourism, hotel and retail sectors have seen a major drop in revenue during the upcoming National Day holidays due to the ongoing turmoil.

As the city experiences social unrest in the past months, the hotel reservations ratio in some areas for the Golden Week was only 20 percent, and some travelers were held back by the possibility that the protests may turn violent, Yiu Si-wing, a legislator and director at China Travel Service, told the Global Times. 

"If violence does not materialize ahead of and on Tuesday, the National Day, local tourism may not be as bad as we thought, as some travelers may still consider visiting," he said. 

Still, compared to previous National Days, the legislator said the festive atmosphere has been muted due to the social divergence, calling for the restoration of peace and trust as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile, a local sculpture park featuring 56 Chinese ethic groups was opened in Macao to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China as well as the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). 

Students of different ethnic groups from the Chinese mainland sing patriotic songs at the opening ceremony of the park. Photo: Zhang Hui/GT

About 100 college students from different ethnic groups in the Chinese mainland performed at the park on Saturday.

During the opening ceremony of the Sculpture Park of the Chinese Ethnics, Sonia Chan Hoi-fan, secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macao SAR, said the park is Macao's only ethnic groups-themed park, and local residents and tourists could learn about the lifestyle of different Chinese ethnic groups. 

The park was officially opened to the public after the ceremony. 

The park is located near the Commemorative Pavilion of Macao Handover and other nearby facilities, such as Commemorative Gallery of the Macao Basic Law and the Golden Lotus Square, to serve as an educational zone for local people to learn the Constitution and the Basic Law, promote the Chinese national spirit and nourish their sentiment of "Love the country, love Macao," the Macao government said. 

The park features images of 56 ethnic groups, and visitors can scan the QR code below the sculptures for information on the groups. 

A guide of the park introduces the sculpture of Dai ethnic minority to visitors. Photo: Zhang Hui/GT

The ethnic minority students, all in ethnic costumes, sang Chinese songs including "I Love My Motherland China" during their performance. 

The college students are from Northwest Minzu University in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu Province, and it's their first time to visit Macao. 

Ma Aike, a 20-year-old Dongxiang ethnic minority student from the university, told the Global Times on Saturday that he felt very lucky to come to Macao to feel the wishes of local people to the motherland and experience the great achievements of "one country, two systems" in Macao. 

"The sculptures in the park send the message of ethnic unity of Chinese people and the harmony and peace Chinese people have been pursuing since ancient times," Ma said. 

China has around 600,000 Dongxiang people who mostly live in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu.

Ma and his schoolmates will participate in a series of exchange activities with local Macao students in the following days. He said they would tell stories of their ethnic groups to Macao students, so that they could know more about ethnic unity and China's history.

The event was organized by the Macao SAR government, Municipal Affairs Bureau and Association for the Promotion of Chinese Ethnic Unity.