The "one country, two systems" plan has been a great success since Macao formally returned to the motherland 15 years ago, according to Li Gang, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region at a meeting with media ahead of the 15th anniversary.

"Macao has changed dramatically in the past 15 years. Fifteen years ago, I was the director of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan department of the Ministry of Culture and led an arts troupe of about 300 people who gave a performance to celebrate Macao's return to the motherland. At that time, Macao was very different from today," Li said.

For example, the number of casinos in Macao increased from 11 in 1999 to 35 today, Li said, noting that the Lisboa, the best and largest casino at that time, is now the smallest.