Three generations of drummers took to the stage to strike up memories of the recent past through a captivating performance on a wide range of percussion instruments.
Now in its 10th year, the Majestic Drums series was launched to boost the city's morale in the wake of a deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or Sars, in the summer of 2003.
The moving scene at Victoria Park, with performers and audiences gathered amid scorching heat, was a spectacle to remember. The mass drum rally ended up being a Guinness World Record.
Since that difficult time, it has become one of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's branded events.
There is hardly any better way to serve the collective memory than inviting children born in that fateful year to come on stage to drum.