The jubilation will be in contrast to the mood in neighboring Hong Kong, the only other region run under the “one country, two systems” model which has endured six months of often violent pro-democracy protests.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend Friday’s anniversary celebrations in Macau, where the population of 700,000 has expressed little of the Hong Kong-style dissent.

“(Macau) is like the good boy in a family,” Larry So, a Hong Kong-born social scientist who taught and has retired in Macau, told AFP.

“Good boys always get candies, and the good boy may find his life pretty comfortable.”

Macau’s skyline and economy have changed beyond recognition since four centuries of Portuguese rule ended in 1999, with glittering casinos the backbone of the city’s dramatic rise.

As the only place in China where gambling is allowed, Macau’s GDP has soared from $6.4 billion in 1999 to more than $55 billion.