The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in Hong Kong has opened its bases to mark the fifth anniversary of the handover of the former British colony to China, a spokesman for the PLA garrison said Friday.

A two-day special programme was arranged by a handover celebration committee to allow Hong Kong media only a rare visit to the military camps.

At a press tour of Stonecutters Island naval base and Sek Kong military base on Thursday, the PLA demonstrated their diversified training in defence skills in a mock land attack.

Meanwhile, a PLA-run song and dance troupe from Beijing will also stage performances here to mark handover celebrations, officials said.

British troops withdrew from the territory when it returned to China on July 1, 1997 and have been replaced by an estimated 4,000 Chinese soldiers.

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