Hong Kong travel guide — Hong Kong tourism and travel information

Hong Kong travel guide

about Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, shortened as Hong Kong (香港, pinyin: Xiānggǎng, WG: Hsiang-kang, Cantonese: heung1 gong2, meaning Fragrant Harbour), is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (the other is Macau), consisting of a small peninsula attached to China's southern coast and 236 islands in the South China Sea, of which Hong Kong Island is the second largest and Lantau the largest.

Under the policy of the 'One Country, Two Systems', Hong Kong enjoys a considerable degree of autonomy from the Mainland, continues to have its own currency, customs and immigration, legal system, and even its own rule of the road, with traffic continuing to drive on the left.

 - Total (July 2003)

Hong Kong geography

The name "Hong Kong" is derived from Hong Kong Island in the South China Sea, at the mouth of the Xi Jiang or Pearl River of southern China. Other territories that were later added include the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, which include over 200 surrounding islands. The landscape is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes, with the highest point being the Tai Mo Shan (literally means "Big Fog Mountain") at 958 m, though lowlands exist in the north.

Of the total of 1102 km² of Hong Kong, only 25% are developed. The remaining 75% are set aside as country parks and nature reserves.

The local climate is that of a tropical monsoon clime. It is cool and humid in winter (Jan-Mar), hot and rainy from spring through summer (Apr-Sep), and warm,sunny and dry in the autumn (Oct - Dec). Hong Kong is visited by occasional typhoons. On September 18, 1906 a typhoon with tsunami killed an estimated 10,000 persons.

Hong Kong history

Although it was occupied since at least as long ago as the Neolithic Age, the territory of today's Hong Kong remained distant from the major events unfolding in imperial China for most of its history. It did not begin attracting worldwide attention until the 19th century.

Occupied by the United Kingdom during the First Opium War in 1841, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded by China the following year under the Treaty of Nanking. Parts of the adjacent Kowloon Peninsula were ceded to Britain in 1860 by the Convention of Peking after the Second Opium War. Various adjacent lands, known as the New Territories were then leased to Britain for 99 years from July 1, 1898, the lease expiring on June 30, 1997.

Pursuant to an agreement signed by the PRC and the UK on December 19, 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the whole territory of Hong Kong under British colonial rule became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC on July 1, 1997.

In the Joint Declaration, the PRC promised that, under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy proposed by Deng Xiaoping, China's socialist economic system would not be practiced in Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters, except foreign affairs and defence, for 50 years, until 2047.

Near cities to Hong Kong

• Macau travel guide 59 km
• Guangzhou travel guide 130 km
• Changsha travel guide 290 km
• Nanjing travel guide 410 km
• Xiamen travel guide 470 km
• Taoyuan travel guide 520 km
• Makung travel guide 570 km
• Kaohsiung travel guide 630 km
• Fuzhou travel guide 670 km
• Changhua travel guide 680 km

Near webcams to Hong Kong

• Victoria Harbour webcam 1.7 km
• Hong Kong webcam 1.7 km
• Hong Kong - Victoria Harbour webcam 1.7 km
• Hongkong webcam 2.5 km
• Hongkong - Victoria park webcam 3.9 km
• Hongkong webcam 7.4 km
• Hongkong webcam 7.4 km
• Hongkong webcam 7.4 km
• Macao - Largo do Senado webcam 1 000 km
• Manila webcam 1 100 km

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Hong Kong travel services

cheap flights to Hong Kong

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Hong Kong real estate

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Hong Kong travel books

Hong Kong travel guide books

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Hong Kong maps and atlases

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