Before I tell you a little about my own first experiences of Hong Kong let me tell you a little about Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China to give it its official status, because that is what it has been since 1997. There are in fact two Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China, the other being Macau formerly a Portuguese colony.
Hong Kong is situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River and the South China Sea and is known for its expansive skyline and natural, deep-water harbour. With a land area of 426 sq. miles and a population of 7 million Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
It first became a British colony after the First Opium War of 1839 - 42. The two Opium Wars with China were fought over the question of commercial rights. That between Britain and China (1839 – 42) followed China’s attempt to prohibit the illegal importation of opium from British India into China. The second war, involving Britain and France against China (1856 – 60), followed Chinese restrictions on foreign trade. Defeat of the Chinese resulted in the ceding of Hong Kong to Britain.
Hong Kong Island was ceded in 1841 and the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and the New Territories – additional areas of the mainland – were leased for 99 years in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which it became a British colony again until 1997 when China resumed sovereignty.
Today, Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading financial centres and remains an important capitalist economy characterised by free trade and low personal taxation – the max is 20%! – and its currency – the Hong Kong Dollar – is the eighth most traded in the world.
Once also a major centre of manufacture – I can remember Christmas Crackers made in Hong Kong and filled with plastic trivia – much of the manufacturing, except for jewellery making, has transferred to Mainland China. Hong Kong has also slipped from being the world’s largest container port to third position after Singapore.
Two final “believe or not” facts for you, according to the UN and WHO (World Health Organisation) Hong Kong had the greatest life expectancy of any region of the world on 2012 and it also has the highest average IQ score of 81 countries around the world.
Sadly the mist prevented an acceptable photo of the skyline by day but the photo above, taken at sunset on the second day of our visit, shows a little more detail.
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