President Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong on Thursday June 29,2017 to mark 20 years since it was handed back to China by Britain, a trip that has already riled democracy activists in the politically divided city.
The three-day visit is his first since becoming leader in 2013 and comes at a time when there are growing fears that Beijing is threatening semi-autonomous Hong Kong's freedoms.
After lengthy negotiations, including between Deng Xiaoping and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the future handover of Hong Kong was signed off by the two sides in 1984.
On 1 July 1997, the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China took place, officially marking the end of Hong Kong's 156 years under British colonial governance.
Since the return to China in 1997, the city has been governed under a "one country, two systems" deal that gives it rights unseen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and an independent judiciary.
But there are now concerns Beijing is trampling the agreement by interfering in a range of areas, from politics to education and media.
Chinese authorities and local officials insist Hong Kong's semi-autonomous status is intact, but have railed against calls for self-determination or independence
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