CHINESE NATIONAL FLAGS HANG ALONG A ROW OF HOUSES IN BEIJING, 1997-06-28 (photo)

China's national flags hang along a row of houses on a Beijing street June 28. The flags, normally displayed outside homes and businesses during public holidays, is out in force in the run-up to the midnight June 30 handover of Hong Kong to China after more than 150 years of British rule. Beijing has tried to stir up patriotic sentiment and ordered its citizens to display the national flag to celebrate the handover. China has been swept up in a frenzy of state-sponsored patriotism surrounding Beijing's resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong after 156 years of British colonial rule. CHINA