Hong Kong's Olympians held a bus parade and met the public on Wednesday, celebrating their recent successes at the Paris Games.
The city recorded its best ever Olympic performance in Paris. The 35 athletes representing Hong Kong in Paris secured four medals, including two golds in fencing, placing Hong Kong 37th position on the medal table out of 91 medal-winning teams, sandwiched between Austria and the Philippines.
Two open-top buses carrying the athletes, their coaches and other delegation members paraded across Hong Kong for about 90 minutes, despite the inclement weather.
The public braved the rain to extend their heartfelt appreciation.
"I was actually at the Olympics in Paris supporting them. And, I thought it'd be a great time, even though it's not great weather today, but to come out and support them and give them some loving support," said Nicky, a resident.
"For Hong Kong, it's a very, very ... it's like a significant growth in the sports industry," said Ivory, another resident.
"No matter for us, Hong Kong people, or for, you know, other tourists coming and watching our athletes, I think that's a very good thing to sort of to do," said Patrick, a resident.
Fencers Vivian Kong and Edgar Cheung both clinched gold, and swimmer Siobhan Haughey won two bronze medals in the 100 meter freestyle swimming and the 200m as well. That came off the back of silver medals she won in Tokyo four years ago.
Optimism filled the air, as the city anticipates this success in the Paris Olympics to be a springboard for future success in the Los Angeles Olympics in four years.
Meanwhile, residents eagerly await the arrival of Olympians from the mainland later this month.
HK celebrates record Olympic success with athletes parade
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the invitation of the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Upon his arrival, Li said that bilateral ties between China and the UAE have maintained strong growth momentum since the two countries established diplomatic relations 40 years ago, and their friendship has grown stronger and continues to flourish.
Li noted that the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in May has drawn a new blueprint for China-UAE ties, charting the course and injecting strong momentum for advancing bilateral relations and cooperation.
Li pointed out that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-UAE relations have developed comprehensively, rapidly and in depth with practical cooperation in various fields going deeper and cultural exchanges becoming increasingly active.
The two countries have maintained close communication and coordination on multilateral platforms, continuously contributing to peace, stability, prosperity and development of the region and the world at large, he said.
Guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and taking the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, Li said he looked forward to having in-depth exchanges with UAE leaders and people committed to China-UAE friendship in various sectors to deepen and solidify the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership and achieve more fruitful results in exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
The UAE is the second and final leg of Li's four-day tour to the Middle East, which began in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. He chaired the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and paid an official visit to the country.
Chinese premier lands in Abu Dhabi for visit
