In West Kowloon, pedestrians were also barred from venturing too close to the high-speed rail terminus, where a red carpet was laid out for the arrival of Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan via train.

The duo were welcomed by masked personnel and primary school pupils waving national flags, chanting: “A passionate welcome!”

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Acrobats performed a lion dance, a traditional Chinese art saved for festive occasions, in the terminus lobby where Xi was greeted by incumbent and former officials, introduced to him by outgoing leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Among the group were Chief Executive-designate John Lee Ka-chiu, former leader Leung Chun-ying, incumbent Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, outgoing justice minister Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah and Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who will stay on as part of the next administration.

Zheng Yanxiong, head of Beijing’s national security office in Hong Kong, Liu Guangyuan, its foreign affairs commissioner in the city, and commander of the Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison, Major General Peng Jingtang, were also among the first batch of officials to meet Xi at the station.

Xi, who made his first trip outside mainland China since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, took off his mask when he gave a speech at the train terminus.

In Sha Tin, many restaurants at the Science and Technology Park chose to close for the day because of the heightened security ahead of Xi’s visit.

The first day of the president’s trip was brief, with Xi spending less than an hour at each venue he visited.

Peng, meanwhile, visited the Xiqu Centre for Chinese opera where she watched a performance in Cantonese.

Xi’s arrival speech at the West Kowloon Terminus lasted just four minutes. He also stopped short of making any further remarks when he met officials, business leaders and members of the disciplined forces at the Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Journalists, again, faced hurdles on Thursday to cover his arrival after the government at the last minute turned down event registration requests by at least 13 reporters.

Any reporters seeking to enter the designated media area in West Kowloon were required to register their press and ID cards with the police.

Members of the press were also told to leave their umbrellas outside the approved zone, despite the wind and downpours. The item was previously adopted by the city’s various protest movements as a symbol of defiance.

Compared to Xi’s visit in 2017, demonstrators were notably absent from the proceedings on Thursday after opposition group the League of Social Democrats previously announced it would give up its annual protest antics.

Chan Po-ying, the group’s chairwoman, said national security police on Wednesday searched the home of six members and subsequently escorted them to various police stations for “a chat”.

Members were “reminded not to take part in any demonstrations”, Chan said, declining to reveal any further details. The group had already called off its annual July 1 protest, citing earlier visits by national security police.

In 2017, a group of 26 protesters, including then student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung, occupied a symbolic statue at Golden Bauhinia Square, just before Xi’s arrival for the flag-raising ceremony.

An estimated 60,000 people also took part in an annual rally on July 1 that year, which started two hours before Xi had left the city.

However, no one has applied to hold any mass rallies this year, with many opposition leaders currently in jail.

A woman surnamed Pak, 60, said she was delighted by Xi’s visit.

“Of course, I feel happy about the 25th handover anniversary, I really hope Hong Kong can continue to be prosperous and stable,” she said.

“The unemployment rate is quite high nowadays due to Covid-19, I hope the government can offer more job opportunities,” Pak said, adding that she would like to see the reopening of the border with the mainland.

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But Mavis Ng, 26, who works in marketing, told the Post that only 10 to 20 per cent of staff at her company went back to their office in Wan Chai, as many were worried about traffic uncertainties.

“The closures are too much, really. If we can still get close to the Exhibition Centre with the footbridge, why close off the Exhibition Centre MTR station? They should just close everything or don’t at all,” she said.

Xi, meanwhile, wrapped up the first day of his visit by dining with outgoing Chief Executive Lam and incoming leader Lee, before travelling back to Shenzhen for the night.

The president will return to the city on Friday to oversee the swearing-in of Lee’s administration. Xi is also expected to lay down Beijing’s direction for Hong Kong in his keynote speech.