Most protesters appear to be leaving and heading into the Sheung Wan subway station, in time to catch the last train home.

Over the past two chaotic months, protests have typically ended by 12:30 a.m., before the final trains leave -- young protesters don't want to get separated, or risk being stranded and picked up by police.

Some protesters have been ducking into the MTR station intermittently all night for cover from the tear gas before heading back out for another push.

But this time it seemed for real.

In the end, the police's tactics had paid off: protesters had been corralled into one area, surrounded on all sides, with only the subway station as an exit. Most protesters now appear to be on the MTR home.