A festive mood is building up across China as Macao's return to the motherland draws near.

In this oriental metropolis of Shanghai, more than 80 mass activities, including quiz contests and long-distance running, have been organized to celebrate the return of Macao on December 20.

Business is brisk at all shops with items on Macao, and local residents have been flocking to an eatery at the western end of Macao Road in Shanghai, where a Macao cuisine festival is being held.

The restaurant is carefully decorated, as three chefs specially invited from Macao prepare Macao dishes.

"Business is especially good these days, and over 200 dinner tables at the restaurant are always occupied," said Zhang Gendi, the general manager.

Books about Macao, as well as postcards and brochures on Macao are available in the book shops and are selling briskly.

Neighborhood committee officials in Shanghai's old city areas are busying themselves creating wallpaper featuring Macao, usually drawing crowds of curious onlookers.

To mark the handover, workers at the Shanghai Banner Factory have made 380,000 Macao Special Administrative Regional flags which will be sold all over the country.

In Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, all the major streets have been decorated with fresh potted flowers and colorful posters heralding the return of Macao to the embrace of the motherland.

A range of activities, including cultural performances, calligraphy exhibitions, commercial promotion tours to Macao, composition contests, and philatelic shows are also being organized in this mountain city to mark the return of Macao.

Down south at Jinan University based in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, many students are taking photos in front of a countdown board that ticks off the time remaining until Macao's return.

Jinan University is a state-financed college specially for overseas students of Chinese origin and is Macao's main supplier of trained personnel.

It has trained more than 3,000 college graduates for Macao since 1978, and at present, 1,600 students from Macao are studying at the university.

For the time being, the busiest of all are those working at the Gongbei Entry and Exit Checkpoint in Zhuhai City in Guangdong Province.

They must inspect and give customs clearance to all the truckloads of decorative articles, souvenirs, gifts and other materials that continue to flow through the checkpoint on the way to Macao for the handover.

On December 20, Macao will become China's second special administrative region, following Hong Kong. (Xinhua)