Parts of Hong Kong were ceded to Britain in perpetuity as a prize in the wake of the Opium Wars, but the majority of its territory was leased to the UK in 1898 for a period of 99 years.

By the time discussions between the UK and China began over the future of Hong Kong, the parts of the ceded city and those that were leased were entirely integrated.

The UK government proposed maintaining administration but transferring sovereignty to China, but this idea and any other plan that did not surrender full control to Beijing were rejected. This meant all of Hong Kong was handed to China at midnight on 1 July 1997, with the promise that the city could maintain its unique way of life and separate government and laws for a period of 50 years.

Peak Tower view

29 June 1997: A local resident with an optimistic message on the back of her T-shirt helps her child look through a telescope from a vantage point at the Peak Tower. Photograph by John MacDougall/AFP

9 June 2017: A young girl with a smiling face on her shorts is lifted by her father so she can look through a telescope from the Peak Tower. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Hong Kong residence of the governor/chief executive

25 June 1997: A photographer takes a snapshot of his partner outside the main gates of the residence of the Hong Kong governor, Chris Patten. Photograph by Mike Clarke/AFP

26 June 2017: A policeman stands guard outside the residence of the Hong Kong chief executive, Leung Chun-ying. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Victoria Harbour view

10 June 1997: Two men relax in the shade and another looks out at Victoria Harbour from the cultural centre’s promenade. Photograph by Stephen Shaver/AFP

12 June 2017: Visitors look at the Hong Kong skyline from the promenade that runs along Victoria Harbour. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Victoria Harbour at night

19 June 1997: A group of Hong Kong youngsters enjoy a night view of Victoria Harbour. Photograph by Tommy Cheng/AFP

9 June 2017: A group of tourists look out at Victoria Harbour at night. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Tiananmen Square vigil, Victoria Park

4 June 1997: People hold candles at a vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on its eighth anniversary. Photograph by Jonathan Utz/AFP

4 June 2017: People raise candles and smartphones showing candles in Victoria Park during a vigil to mark the 28th anniversary of the 4 June Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing in 1989. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Construction work

18 June 1997: A construction worker ties bamboo scaffolding behind a sign being erected opposite Hong Kong harbour. Photograph by Stephen Shaver/AFP

20 June 2017: Construction workers carry out work on the exterior of a residential building covered in bamboo scaffolding and protective netting. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Post

25 June 1997: A woman leaves a satellite post office still bearing the British seal on the postbox in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Photograph by Stephen Shaver/AFP

23 June 2017: A woman walks past a green Hong Kong postbox in the district of Wan Chai. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Waterfront

12 June 1997: Rusty barbed wire frames the Star Ferry and Hong Kong’s skyline along Victoria Harbour’s waterfront. Photograph by Stephen Shaver/AFP

9 June 2017: A man walks on a footbridge over reclaimed land that used to be part of the Victoria Harbour waterfront. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Legislative council

27 June 1997: Hong Kong’s legislative council meeting which voted on a bill to protect the territory’s famous harbour during its last session. Photograph: GIS

8 June 2017: The legislative council during a meeting on ‘Not forgetting the June 4 incident’, after a vigil a week earlier for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP



Hong Kong stock exchange

28 October 1997: Local traders leave the Hong Kong stock exchange after a day’s session. Photograph by Tommy Cheng/AFP

16 June 2017: A local trader leaves the stock exchange for her lunch break. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP

Victoria Harbour

23 June 1997: The royal yacht Britannia sails in Hong Kong’s harbour. The yacht was the floating base for Prince Charles before the territory was handed back to China after more than 150 years of British rule. Photograph by Dan Groshong/AFP

12 June 2017: A boat powers through Victoria Harbour in front of the Hong Kong skyline. Photograph by Anthony Wallace/AFP