2002-2006

HK Edition | Updated: 2017-06-15 11:16

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Snapshots of a city, Part 2

The SARS outbreak in 2003 threatened to paralyze Hong Kong. The city united in mourning over the premature death of Hong Kong heartthrob Leslie Cheung and again when the old Star Ferry Pier at Edinburgh Place was demolished to make way for new development. Hong Kong coped with and survived these difficult times in the second quarter of the last 20 years since the founding of HKSAR, rejoicing in the opening of the city's own Disneyland and the spectacular light-and-sound show at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui. At the end of the day, the Lion Rock spirit had triumphed, as documented in these photos by China Daily staff photographer Edmond Tang and agencies.

1. May 23, 2003: Dr Joanna Tse Yuen-man, who contracted the disease while treating SARS-affected patients in Hong Kong, is laid to rest in the cemetery where public servants dying on the line of duty are buried. Provided To China Daily 2. April 27, 2004: A fugitive crocodile that managed to elude the men on its trail since it surfaced in Hong Kong in November, was sighted sunbathing in rural Yuen Long. AP 3. Dec 13, 2005: South Korean farmers protesting against an ongoing World Trade Organization meeting in the city come up against a cordon of Hong Kong riot police. Edmond Tang / China Daily 4. Sept 11, 2005: Hong Kong Disneyland opens its doors to the public. Edmond Tang / China Daily 5. Aug 20, 2004: Hong Kong's Ko Lai-chak (right) and Li Ching celebrate after beating Russia's Dimitrij Mazunov and Alexei Smirnov in the men's double table tennis semifinal match at the Olympic Games in Athens. AP 6. April 1, 2005: A fan clicks a picture of a poster showing the pop icon, actor-singer Leslie Cheung, outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel exactly two years after Cheung leapt to his death from a hotel window. AP 7. April 27, 2004: Avenue of Stars opens at Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade with a laser show throwing light on Hong Kong's distinctive skyline. Edmond Tang / China Daily 8. 2004: The Patrouille de France, the aerobatic demonstration team of the French Air Force, release smoke with colors corresponding to those of the French flag, to mark the China-France year, flying past Hong Kong's IFC tower. Edmond Tang / China Daily 9. May 2005: Land being harnessed from the sea. Here's where the Central Harbourfront Event Space with the Observation Wheel now stands. Edmond Tang / China Daily 10. Nov 11, 2006: Last day of the Star Ferry Pier at Edinburgh Place, which was shut down to make way for a six-lane bypass and a shopping center built on reclaimed land. Edmond Tang / China Daily 11. June 8, 2004: Venus transiting across the sun, a phenomenon last seen in 1882, is visible from Hong Kong. Edmond Tang / China Daily

(HK Edition 06/15/2017 page6)