Meanwhile, back at the celebrations

About 40,000 people, undaunted by occasional light rain and sweltering heat, packed Hong Kong Stadium to attend a celebration of the 15th anniversary of the city's return to Chinese rule.

It was one of largest events of the many taking place across the city and included a midday parachute jump into the stadium by seven members of the People's Liberation Army's 8-1 Parachute Brigade.

Last night, hundreds of thousands flocked to Victoria Harbour to watch the fireworks, with 50,000 shells shooting into the sky in a 23-minute display costing HK$8 million. Highlights included fireworks in the shape of 'HK' and the Chinese characters for 15.

The four-hour show at the stadium was studded with Canto-pop stars and more than 1,000 local and mainland performers, but the paratroop jumpers stole the spotlight to thunderous applause by unveiling the national flag and those of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the 8-1 Parachute Brigade in the sky.

The organiser, the Hong Kong Celebrations Association, said 11 paratroopers were originally going to jump but the performance had to be shortened and only seven took part due to strong air currents. One of the team missed the mat by about 30 metres because of the strong winds.

It was the second time the brigade has parachuted into the city. It last performed in 2007 to mark the 10th anniversary of the handover.

Spectators were in awe of the brigade's jump. 'I really liked the parachuting performance. We can see that the paratroopers are really well trained as they are not afraid of heights,' said Ng Wing-yan, 12, who admitted having an extreme fear of heights.