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Countin' down the minutes...

It is near this countdown clock that I spent the last minutes of Hong Kong, the British colony. Obviously this picture was taken a couple of days prior to the big handover day (still 97468 seconds left). By the time the last few minutes ticked away, my camera had alread met the ground, causing the battery to eject, as I was attempting to ward off the masses of people behind me trying to push ahead. I was able to recover the camera, but not the battery. (The "1997" sign is part of the trendy club of the same name in Lan Kwai Fong.)

Earlier that evening in Lan Kwai Fong, two "wacky" ex-pats get interviewed by one of the dozens of reporters who covered the Lan Kwai Fong street party, and a big red-clad baloon welcomes back China.

Last updated July 3, 1997 by Michael C. Nechyba