"My granddaughter thought I was kidding when I told her I wrote a letter to President Xi and got a reply from him," Wong Fook Chor laughed in an interview with CGTN on Tuesday. "She thought it was impossible."

This October, 30 elderly volunteers at the I Chon Center, run by the General Union of Neighborhood Association of Macao, received a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping after they wrote to him during the Mid-Autumn Festival in September.

"He visited us ten years ago. We are wondering if he still remembers us," said Ma Tang, a Chinese calligraphy teacher at the I Chon Center and also a member of the group of writers.

This is the third letter from President Xi to members of the Macao community in the past two years. In his correspondence, which came on October 7, Xi expressed his greetings to the elderlies for Chong Yeong Festival, also known as Ancestors' Day.

President Xi spoke highly of Macao's residents' love for their country and for Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), and appreciated their contribution to the patriotism in Macao. He said that the letter reminded him of his visit to the I Chon Center ten years ago and that he was happy to see the senior citizens enjoying a fulfilling retired life in Macao.

December 20 marks the 20th anniversary of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR)'s return to its motherland, China. CGTN visited the I Chon Center and talked to the letter writers in Macao. They shared the stories behind their letter to President Xi and their cherished memories of Macao SAR's development over the past two decades.

What did they write to President Xi?

In the letter, 30 elderly volunteers described the development of Macao over the past 20 years and expressed their pride in being Chinese.

"The idea started from a tea talk during the Spring Festival in February," Ma said. "Since 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of Macao's reunification with China, we want President Xi to know how happy we are."

Volunteers at the I Chon Center then prepared for half a year, finally reaching the final version before Mid-Autumn Festival in September.

"We still remember the time when Typhoon Hato hit Macao in 2017. It overwhelmingly destroyed our hometown. But we are thankful for the support and help from the People's Liberation Army who cleaned up and reconstructed the space with us," they wrote in the letter, expressing appreciation for the support from the central government.

Since most of the senior volunteers were born in the 1950s, they have witnessed much change over the past few decades. “We can tell that the prosperity of China has also brought prosperity to Macao. A better China means a stronger Macao.”

In the letter to President Xi, the senior citizens also illustrated their retired life, with sufficient financial support and social facilities offered by the government.

"We are proud to say that the happiness index of seniors in Macao is among the highest across the world," they wrote in the letter.

Xi replies: Tell more of your stories to the younger generation

"Hello everyone. Upon reading your letter, I recalled meeting with all of you in Macao ten years ago. I am glad to know that you are enthusiastic about public welfare, and that your lives are full and enjoyable after retirement," Xi wrote in a letter to the senior volunteers.

Speaking about how they felt when they received the response from Xi, Le Iu Peng told CGTN: "We were so excited and some of my colleagues couldn't sleep at night."

Vicky Ho, director of the General Union of Neighborhood Association of Macao, told CGTN that what impressed her most was that Xi expressed his affection and care not only towards the elderlies but also to all citizens in Macao.

"You say that you are all truly proud of being Chinese, and I believe that this is also the voice of the majority of Macao's compatriots," Xi wrote.

In the letter to the I Chon Center's elderlies, Xi also gave a "mission" to them: "I hope you will accomplish something and fulfill your lives by telling stories about Macao before and after its reunification to young people and encouraging them to pass on the spirit of loving their motherland and loving Macao. Let them participate actively in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and make Macao more beautiful."

"Under Portuguese control, the people of Macao did not have any social benefits," Le said. "We are used to depending on ourselves (and) solving any difficulties without any support from the government."

What Le said was also the reason why Macao's citizens set up the General Union of Neighborhood Association of Macao.

"The Portuguese government did not offer any social welfare services in Macao," Ng Siu Lai, president of the association, told CGTN. So, it was set up to help residents "support each other."

"Especially when we were traveling overseas," Ma said, "we had no nationality and no-one cared about Macao before 1999. But now, when they see my Macao SAR passport, they know I'm Chinese."

In the interview on Tuesday, the elders told CGTN that Xi's letter showed his care for the people in Macao, which is also a praise of the success of "One Country, Two Systems" principle. To help the young generation understand history better, senior volunteers in I Chon Center have started preparing for new social activities.

Two more letters to Macao from Xi

On May 31, students from the Hou Kong Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School in Macao received a response from President Xi ahead of International Children's Day.

Xi expressed his hope that the students would inherit the tradition of loving their motherland and Macao. He hoped that they could make contributions to Macao's future development and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Back in 2018, Yonghua Song, rector of the University of Macau, and Liu Liang, president of the Macau University of Science and Technology, received a reply from Xi after they submitted a joint letter to him in May of that year.

Xi wrote that he was happy to see that technological research had made significant progress in Macao's higher education institutions. He hoped that the development of technology could help advance the local economy and make a contribution to the Greater Bay Area.