Tania in China

Where am I? Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Macau. Hong Kong is on the eastern side of the Pearl River Delta on the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, facing the South China Sea in the south, and bordering Guangdong Province in the north. Because Hong Kong has one of the world's most liberal economies and is a major international centre of finance and trade, it is China's richest region.

The area now known as Hong Kong became an important trading region and a significant strategic location for the Chinese mainland during the Tang and Song dynasties. In 1841 the British, to redress their net outflow of payments to China for tea and to force China to conduct relations like other states, invaded China, winning the First Opium War. During the war, Hong Kong Island was first occupied by the British, and then formally ceded by the Qing Dynasty of China in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking. Hong Kong became a crown colony in 1843, and the first urban settlement was named Victoria City. The Kowloon Peninsula south of Boundary Street and Stonecutter's Island was ceded to the British in 1860 under the Convention of Peking after the Second Opium War. Various adjacent lands, known as the New Territories (including New Kowloon and Lantau Island), were then leased by Britain for 99 years, from 1 July 1898 to 30 June 1997.

Hong Kong had been a trade port ever since the British occupation, but its position as an trading center declined greatly after the United Nations ordered a trade embargo against the People's Republic of China as a result of the Korean War. In response, a textile industry was established, taking advantage of the new pool of workers from China who were willing to work for almost any wage. During this period, the economy grew extremely rapidly. Towards the 1970s, Hong Kong began to move away from the textile industry and develop its financial and banking economy. This led to even greater growth, and Hong Kong quickly became one of the wealthiest territories in the world. Its position as an trade port was revived when the Open Door Policy was adopted by the PRC in the late 1970s under Deng Xiaoping.

In the 1980s, with the lease on the New Territories running out, the British government decided to negotiate the question of the sovereignty of Hong Kong. Although the British would have been legally required to transfer only the New Territories to the PRC, Whitehall decided that dividing the colony would not be worthwhile - the majority of Hong Kong's land was in the New Territories, and failure to return the entire colony would undoubtedly have generated political friction between the UK and PRC. Pursuant to an agreement known as 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 1 July 1997. In the Joint Declaration, the PRC promised that under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy proposed by Deng Xiaoping, the socialist economic system in mainland China would not be practised in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and life-style would remain unchanged for at least 50 years, or until 2047. Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except diplomatic affairs and national defence. Hong Kong was transferred to the PRC at midnight on 1 July 1997, with the last governor, Chris Patten, leaving on the royal yacht.

Hong Kong consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. The Kowloon Peninsula is attached to the New Territories in the north, and the New Territories are in turn connected to mainland China across the Sham Chun River (Shenzhen River). In total, Hong Kong has 262 islands in the South China Sea, of which Lantau is the largest.

Hong Kong Island itself is the second largest and also the most populated. Ap Lei Chau is the most densely populated island in the world.

The body of water between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula is Victoria Harbour, one of the deepest natural maritime ports in the world.

The landscape of Hong Kong is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes. Of the territory's 426 square miles and nearly 7 million residents, less than 25% of the land is developed; the remaining land is remarkably green and significant portions are reserved as country parks and nature reserves.

This is because most live and work in high-rise buildings in the city and surrounding new towns.

My hotel room is located on the southern tip of the Kowloon peninsula, facing Victoria Harbor and the main developed area on the island of Hong Kong.

posted by Tania @ 2:06 PM