Thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong Sunday for the first time since mass demonstrations shut down parts of the city for more than two months.
A sea of yellow umbrellas - the symbol of the campaign - moved slowly through central Hong Kong with crowds shouting for "true universal suffrage".
But numbers were well below expectations with 13,000 attending according to organisers - just over a quarter of the 50,000 they had hoped for.
"Today's protest wasn't a small one. It was smaller than we expected, but it's wrong to say Hong Kongers have given in to fake democracy," said organiser Daisy Chan.
Police said up to 8800 people had joined the march, a fraction of the tens of thousands who gathered at the peak of the protests.
Authorities have made no concessions to activists demands and tensions remain high in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Police warned ahead of the rally that demonstrators were likely to once again try to occupy some of Hong Kong's main roads, which were cleared of tented camps in December.
But by late afternoon the march remained peaceful, with no sign that the crowds - including many people carrying yellow balloons - planned to take back the streets.
"We don't have a plan (to reoccupy). If others want to do it, they will have to do it themselves," student leader Alex Chow told AFP.
Despite the disappointing turnout, there was a sense of determination among demonstrators.
"We just want to express our frustration with the government in Hong Kong," said protester Ronnie Chan, who is in his 40s and works in sales and marketing.
"We understand there is very little we can do, but if we don't speak out nothing will change."
The pro-democracy rallies drew around 100,000 at their height and saw intermittent violent clashes with police, but public support faded as the weeks dragged by.
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