We were in Hong Kong as protests broke out across the city.  It started in Central and grew in size, overtaking some of the major areas of the city. The people of Hong Kong were protesting the Chinese government for the right to elect their own chief executive in 2017.   The movement gained momentum and support over social media as it got prominent coverage in the world press.

Crowd gathering on the first day of the protest.

The protesters took over the roads, using buses to close down a major six lane highway and paralyzing Hong Kong’s financial district.  The protest eventually made its way over to the Kowloon side where part of Nathan Road was shut down and people spilled out into the middle of the street.  At every major corner, we saw young students handing out a yellow ribbon, the symbol of Occupy Central.   Most shops closed down as a result of the unrest.  Temple Street night market, usually filled with tourists and chaos was eerily quiet, like a ghost town.  Most of the shop owners sitting despondently in the corner, jumped at every new customer coming their way.

On the last day of our trip, we took a train over to Central into the heart of the demonstration.  Four days in and the protest looked like it was still going strong, many people were still there occupying the highway.  There were separate areas for food and supplies as well as trash, everything looked to be very well organized. Along the barricade, there were ladders erected to allow people to get over the highway median.  People looked like they were settled in for the long haul.  Students were using this time to catch up on their reading and school work.  Here are some of the photos we took documenting the event.

Local and international media gathered to document the event.

Bus used to block the on ramp

Umbrellas, the ubiquitous symbol of the Occupy Central movement, were used to keep out the sun and to fend off tear gas from the police.

Supplies kept in a shaded area