Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, located in the southern part of China, and has a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign relations and military defense.
It consists of the half-island Kowloon as well as several islands, Hong Kong Island being the most important of them. It is one of the busiest harbor cities in the world and is the most important trading place in Asia. Hong Kong is the 3rd most leading international financial center, after London and New York, as it has low taxes and free trade.
There are over 7 million people living in Hong Kong, in a fairly small area, making it one of the world’s most densely populated area. The lack of space has turned Hong Kong into the world’s most vertical city, full of skyscrapers. 93,6% of the inhabitants are ethnic Chinese, while 6,4% are other groups.
Hong Kong has a special history, being a colony of the British Empire from 1842 before occupied by Japan during the Pacific War (1941-1945), while the British again resumed control from 1945-1997. The British periods have greatly influenced the current culture of today’s Hong Kong. Hong Kong really lives up to its term: “East meets West“.
Travel Guides
We used Lonely Planet`s Hong Kong guide book on our trip. It was very good! Click on the pictures below to read more about each book on Amazon (affiliate links):
Our Ultimate Travel Guide To Hong Kong
If you are interested in visiting Hong Kong, read our free Ultimate Travel Guide to Hong Kong:
Articles About Hong Kong
Facts
- Population: 7 184 000 (2013)
- Capital: Hong Kong
- Land Area: 1104 km²
- Density: 6544 people/ km²
- Language: Chinese and English
- Religion: Buddhist
- Currency: Hong Kong Dollar
- Time zone: UTC+8
- Drives on: Left
Recent Hong Kong Comments
Janice Estion
on Top 10 Things To Do In Hong Kong
I miss going hiking in HK. The view from Victoria Peak
Mako
on Shopping for Action Figures in Hong Kong!
Hi, Maria!!
I've never known about this kind of worldwide exhibition. It is a huge scale display, so I couldn't believe it was held in a shopping mall. One way...
Maria
on Top 10 Things To Do In Hong Kong
Hi Denis,
No sorry, I don´t know a place that makes green onion pancakes in Hong Kong.
-Maria-
Denis
on Top 10 Things To Do In Hong Kong
Do you know of a place that makes green onion pancakes? I found a great little bakery in a hunting in Beijing that made extraordinary ones. It would be...