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Chinese soldiers crossing the Hong Kong border
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All Change:
Britain Leaves, China Arrives
Chinese troops have started arriving in Hong Kong, following the official handover of the colony to China at midnight local time (17.00 BST). The troops came in armoured cars, helicopters and on war ships.
Earlier, British troops conducted one last military tattoo. As night began to fall, men and women of the Army, RAF, and the Royal Navy, paraded in front of the Prince of Wales, representatives of the British goverment and thousands of spectators, who were drenched in heavy rainfall.
Soldiers of the Royal Navy were the first to plant the Union Flag on Hong Kong
island in 1841.
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In pouring rain - British soldiers say farewell
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Bandsmen from the Royal Marines in white tropical uniform lined up
alongside kilted pipers from the Black Watch and the Scottish Division,
musicians from the Gurkhas and the Scots Guards fresh from sentry duty outside
Buckingham Palace.
As the torrential rain became a deluge, the Union Flag and the flag of the Royal
Yacht Britannia were lowered ceremoniously for the last time on the reclaimed site,
which used to be Britain's naval base.
As expected, Hong Kong's new leader Tung Chee-hwa failed to turn up for
Britain's farewell as it clashed with the arrival of the Chinese
President Jiang Zemin. Mr Tung had insisted that his absence was not designed as a snub.
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