In Pictures: Hong Kong now and then - Everything changes, and everything stays the same

now and then hong kong compared old photo

This combo shows a file photo (top) taken on April 22, 2007 of people looking at Queen’s Pier during a protest by conservationists against land reclamation of Victoria harbour and the eventual destruction of the pier in Hong Kong and the same area (bottom) on June 7, 2017, of pedestrians walking up a stairway that leads towards land reclaimed after the Queen’s Pier was demolished in February 2008. Queen’s Pier, named after Queen Victoria, was a public pier in front of City Hall that was also used as a major ceremonial arrival and departure point, being the official arrival point of all of Hong Kong’s governors since 1925. Photo: Philippe Lopez/Anthony Wallace.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on April 22, 1997 of a worker taking a break from erecting a stand at a harbour-front site in front of the Prince of Wales building (behind) in Hong Kong where a farewell parade by the British armed forces was to take place on June 30, 1997 on the last day of British rule over the territory, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 8, 2017 showing a man in Tamar Park near the government headquarters (L) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) barracks (behind C) in Hong Kong. Photo: Tommy Cheng/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture taken on June 29, 1997 of a local resident with an optimistic message on the back of her T-shirt helping her child look at Hong Kong through a telescope from a vantage point at the Peak Tower, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 9, 2017 of a young girl with a smiling face design on her shorts being lifted by her father as she looks through a telescope from the Peak Tower in Hong Kong. Photo: John MacDougall/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on June 19 1997 of Hong Kong youngsters enjoying a night view of Victoria Harbour, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 9, 2017 of a group of tourists as they look at the view of Victoria Harbour. Photo: Tommy Cheng/Anthony Wallace.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on June 23, 1997 of the royal yacht Britannia sailing in Hong Kong harbour which was the floating base for Prince Charles before the territory is to be handed back to China after more than 150 years of British rule, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 12, 2017 showing a boat powering through the waters of Victoria Harbour in front of Hong Kong’s skyline. Photo: Anthony Wallace/Dan Groshong/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on June 10, 1997 of two men relaxing in the shade and another looking out at Victoria Harbour from the Cultural Centre’s promenade, which is a favourite vantage point to view Hong Kong’s skyline, and (bottom) a picture taken on June 12, 2017 of visitors looking at the skyline of Hong Kong from the promenade that runs along Victoria Harbour. Photo: Stephen Shaver/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a photo taken on June 27, 1997 of a stock trader adjusting his glasses during an afternoon session of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the last day of trading before the British colony returned to China, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 16, 2017 of a stock trader moving his pad before leaving for his lunch break in Hong Kong. Photo: Torsten Blackwood/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on October 28, 1997 of local traders leaving the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after a day session, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 16, 2017 of a local trader leaving the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for her lunch break. Photo: Tommy Cheng/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on June 18, 1997 of a construction worker tying bamboo scaffolding behind a sign being erected facing Hong Kong harbour, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 20, 2017 of construction workers (top R and centre L) working on the exterior of a residential building covered in bamboo scaffolding and protective netting in Hong Kong. Photo: Stephen Shave/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on June 28, 1997 of Jacob Suen, 17, polishing the edge of a frame surrounding posters depicting Hong Kong’s handover and a picture (bottom) taken on June 26, 2017 showing a poster (C) promoting celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China, seen in front of a pile of discarded banners and posters from a handover anniversary celebration event that took place the day before. Photo: Choo Youn-kong/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a photo (top) taken on June 25, 1997 of a photographer taking a snap shot of his partner outside the main gates of Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten’s residence in Hong Kong, and a photo (bottom) taken on June 26, 2017 of a policeman standing guard outside Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s residence in Hong Kong. Photo: Mike Clarke/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on July 2, 1997 of the Cenotaph (L), built in 1975 to remember members of the Allied Forces who died in the World War I and II, standing beside the Legislative Council building (R) with no flags on the second day Hong Kong was returned by the British to China, and a picture (bottom) taken on June 26, 2017 of the Cenotaph (L) in front of the Final Court of Appeal, formerly the Legislative Council building, with hoisted flags of China (R) and Hong Kong (L). Photo: Manuel Ceneta/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

This combo shows a file picture (top) taken on June 4, 1997 of people waving candles during a vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on its 8th anniversary and a file picture (bottom) taken on June 4, 2017 of people raising candles and smartphones (C and R) showing an animated GIF image of a candle in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, during a vigil to mark the 28th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing in 1989. Photo: Jonathan Utz/Anthony Wallace/AFP.

In Pictures: Hong Kong now and then – Everything changes, and everything stays the same

Hong Kong Free Press