FINAL DAY AS A COLONY HEAVY WITH ANTICIPATION.

Byline: Laura King Associated Press 

Hong Kong headed into its last day as a British colony today with China pledging to preserve its autonomy, Britain offering some royal pomp, and rival camps gearing up for marathon celebrations and protest rallies.

``The mood is expectant, it is excited, it is a lot of conflicting emotions,'' said U.S. Consul General Richard Boucher earlier today as the city made final preparations for the pageant of festivities that will mark the end of 156 years of colonial rule at midnight.

Dozens of top foreign officials are in town, setting off a flurry of diplomatic activity, including early morning talks between Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.

China, which regards the return of its territory with pride, was staging celebrations of its own.

Chinese streamed by the tens of thousands to Beijing's Tiananmen Square to take pictures of a huge sign saying ``Celebrate the Return of Hong Kong'' or to view the clock counting the seconds until midnight today.

Leaving Beijing for Hong Kong, President Jiang Zemin renewed China's vow to preserve the freedoms and capitalist vigor that have made Hong Kong an economic powerhouse.

``We will firmly . . . safeguard the Hong Kong residents' rights and freedoms in accordance with the law,'' China's official news agency, Xinhua, quoted Jiang as saying before he departed. Jiang was arriving later today, the first Communist Chinese president ever to visit Hong Kong.

Last hurrahs were the order of the day for the departing colonial government.

Chris Patten, the last British governor, was to depart Government House for the last time this afternoon, Hong Kong time, after saying goodbye to the staff and bringing down the Union Jack.

Six hours after the hand-over, China is bringing in 4,000 troops by ships, helicopters and armored vehicles. Britain has protested, saying armored personnel carriers in urban areas will alarm people.

Albright, who will attend the formal hand-over ceremony but skip the swearing-in of the unelected legislature, also was critical.

She told CBS that while China has the right to move in troops, ``it's not so much as what is permitted but what kind of a signal that it sends, and I have to say that I personally think it's not the best first signal.''

Democratic Party leader Martin Lee also called the deployment heavy-handed.

``It's as if they're invading Hong Kong,'' he said. ``It will only frighten our people.''

On another sensitive subject, Lee expressed dissatisfaction with incoming leader Tung Chee-hwa's indications to visiting foreign officials that the new government will try to hold elections in May. Until then, an unelected body will supplant Hong Kong's elected legislature.

Lee said it was like having trespassers move in and being assured by police that they would be gone in a year - ``and you are supposed to rejoice over it.''

These disputes aside, all parties have an enormous stake in a smooth transition.

Derek Fatchett, a British Foreign Office minister visiting Hong Kong, warned against overemphasizing the negative, saying, ``There's a real danger in the Hong Kong debate that we look for disaster, betrayal, before we look for success.''

Under the formula of ``one country, two systems,'' what won't change is as notable as what will. Daily life for most people won't be much different under the red, five-starred Chinese flag.

English common law will continue as the legal code, separate from Chinese law. Foreign work visas will remain valid. The border will remain in place, and the currency stays the same.

A glance at the weekend entertainment guides suggests life will quickly return to normal, with Steven Spielberg's ``The Lost World'' opening at Hong Kong cinemas July 4.

The political landscape will change, however. In addition to replacing Hong Kong's elected legislature with an unelected body, China is also rolling back some civil liberty laws governing the right to hold rallies and form political parties.

During the hand-over, protesters will be allowed to gather at two sites a few hundred yards from the convention center. A handful of demonstrators moved into position Sunday evening with banners calling for the release of Chinese dissidents.

Hong Kong's hard-working people, meanwhile, were enjoying the five-day hand-over holiday. On Sunday, waterfront districts were full of strolling families, and ferries were packed as they plied the harbor.

Festivities, too, were already beginning. In Kowloon, 7,000 young expatriates and Hong Kong natives turned out for an all-night dance party that continued well into Sunday morning.

``It's very strange: We're going to be living in China . . . so I guess we'd better party now,'' said 26-year-old Micheline Hill.

Polls have shown that Hong Kong people are for the most part calmly accepting the hand-over, despite undercurrents of anxiety.

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