雅虎香港電視

STORY: Xi's visit, via high-speed rail, is his first to the city since 2017 and the first known trip outside mainland China in over two years amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

Xi, wearing a mask, stepped out of the train to be greeted by children and other people waving flowers and Chinese and Hong Kong flags, while chanting "Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome" in Mandarin.

Outgoing leader Carrie Lam and her husband were among those who welcomed Xi at the train station.

The city's streets had been festooned with red China flags and posters declaring a "new era" of stability.

Authorities deployed heavy security around the train station where Xi arrived and conducted stop-and-search checks, with some officers assisted by sniffer dogs.