AKIPRESS.COM - After a week of relative calm, thousands of anti-government protesters, including many elderly residents, took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday chanting “revolution of our time” and “liberate Hong Kong”, Reuters reports.

The protest, which took place in the bustling shopping district of Tsim Tsa Tsui, came after hundreds of people had marched to the U.S. consulate to show “gratitude” for U.S. support for the demonstrations that have roiled the China-ruled financial hub for nearly six months.

Waving posters that read “Never forget why you started” and black flags with the logo “Revolution now”, protesters marched past the city’s Kowloon waterfront, home to luxury hotels and shopping malls.

There has been relative calm in Hong Kong for the past week since local elections last Sunday delivered an overwhelming victory to pro-democracy candidates.

However, activists have pledged to maintain the momentum of the movement with three marches on Sunday.

Anti-government protests have rocked the former British colony since June, at times forcing government offices, businesses, schools and even the international airport to shut.

“We had demonstrations, peaceful protests, lobbying inside the council, a lot of things we have done but they all failed,” said Felix, a 25 year old university graduate.

“There are still five demands,” he said, referring to protesters’ calls that include an independent inquiry into police behavior and the implementation of universal suffrage.

Young protesters and families with children filled the nearby streets as scores of riot police patrolled the area. Protesters, some with gas masks and backpacks, headed towards Hung Hom, a district near the ruined campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The campus turned into a battleground in mid-November when protesters barricaded themselves in and faced off riot police in violent clashes of petrol bombs, water cannon and tear gas.

About 1,100 people were arrested last week, some while trying to escape.

On Friday, police withdrew from the university after collecting evidence and removing dangerous items including thousands of petrol bombs, arrows and chemicals which had been strewn around the site.