Hong Kong

Template:Infobox country Chinese SAR Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, (, literally "Fragrant Port") is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (the other is Macau). It is one of the richest and most highly developed places in China and even the world. Hong Kong grew quickly in the decades after World War II. It is now a famous world class financial center.

The population of Hong Kong is more than seven million. The economy has rapidly grown from a trading port to a very rich city.

Hong Kong is divided into 3 main parts:

• Hong Kong Island
• Kowloon
• New Territories (including 235 outlying islands)

Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842 to 1997 because China lost the Second Opium War. After the Handover, Hong Kong became a part of China.

Climate

Hong Kong is in a tropical area, and has monsoon winds. It is cool and wet in winter (Jan-Mar), hot and rainy from spring through summer (Apr-Sep), and warm, sunny and dry in the autumn (Oct-Dec). The rainy season is from May until September. In summer and early autumn, there is a frequent threat of typhoons. As Hong Kong is located nearly at the centre of the Eurasian Plate, there are seldom tsunamis and earthquakes.

Population and language

The population of Hong Kong reached 7 million in 2009. Most of the people in Hong Kong are Chinese. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It has an overall density of 6,300 people per square kilometre.

Hong Kong has one of the world’s lowest birth rates—1.11 per woman of child-bearing age as of 2012. This is far below the rate needed to replace each person, 2.1.

People from Hong Kong mainly speak Cantonese. Students are required to learn English at school. Ever since Hong Kong became a part of China, the number of people who speak Mandarin has increased because Mandarin is the official language of the PRC. Some schools have a different track for each of the three languages, depending on the language the student is most comfortable with, and teach all non-language subjects (e.g. Maths, science etc.) in the language of the track.

Public holidays

17 days of the year are public holidays in Hong Kong:

• 1 January - the beginning of the year
• the Chinese New Year - 15 days of celebrations, of which 3 are public holidays
• Qingming Festival, also known as "Tomb Sweeping Day"
• Easter (3 public holidays)
• 1 May - Labour Day
• The Buddha's birthday
• Dragon Boat Festival
• 1 July (HKSAR Day)
• the day after Mid-Autumn Festival
• 1 Oct - Chinese National Day
• Chongyang Festival - a day when people honor their ancestors, similar to "Tomb Sweeping Day"
• Christmas (25 and 26 December are public holidays)

Currency

There are coins from 10 cents to 10 Hong Kong dollars; and bank-notes (paper money bills) from $10 to $1000. One American dollar is equal to about $7.75 in Hong Kong dollars, at the official bank exchange rate.

Public transport

• Mass Transit Railway (MTR) which was established in 1979, owns seven lines (10 lines after KCR merger),
  • Kwun Tong Line (running between Whampoa/Ho Man Tin and Tiu Keng Leng)
  • Tsuen Wan Line (running between Tsuen Wan and Central)
  • Island Line (running between Kennedy Town and Chai Wan)
  • South Island Line (running between Admiralty and South Horizons)
  • Tseung Kwan O Line (running between Po Lam/LOHAS Park and North Point)
  • Tung Chung Line (running between Tung Chung/Tsing Yi and Hong Kong)
  • Airport Express (running between AsiaWorld-Expo and Hong Kong)
  • Disneyland Resort Line (running between Sunny Bay and Disneyland Resort)
  • East Rail Line (running between Hung Hom and Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau)
  • West Rail Line (running between Hung Hom and Tuen Mun/Kam Sheung Road)
  • Ma On Shan Line (running between Wu Kai Sha and Tai Wai)
• Bus: there are four major bus companies in Hong Kong, such as KMB which mainly services Kowloon, the rest are New Lantau Bus, who mainly services Lantau Island, Citybus, which mainly serves airport routes and New World First Bus, which mainly services Hong Kong Island.
• Public Light Bus: in 1960s, it was an illegal transportation, but later on, the government noticed that if there were only buses in Hong Kong, then some villages in N.T. will not have a public transport. Therefore, the Legislative Council legislated (made a law) for it to be legal and under the government control.
• Tram (running between Kennedy Town, Happy Valley, and Shau Kei Wan)
• Peak Tram (running between Garden Road and Victoria Peak)
• Taxi (Red, Green, and Blue)
• Ferry (Lots of different companies, including the Star Ferry, First Ferry and Fortune Ferry companies)

Housing in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has the most unaffordable housing market in the world. This according to a study which compared ninety metropolitan areas in different countries.

Timeline of Hong Kong

Here is a brief history of Hong Kong:

File:Rocks at old age.JPG

Some very old rocks found in Hong Kong

Around 4000 BC

• Sea levels rose above 100 meters

Around 3500 BC

• Ceramic forms decorated with a wide range of patterns

Around 2000 BC

• Bronze weapons, knives, arrowheads & tools.
• Metal worked locally

Around 500 BC

• Ancient Chinese writing developed

221 BC

• People from Mainland China came to Hong Kong

220 BC

• Coins from the Chinese Han period were used in Hong Kong

1555

• A Portuguese named Jorge Álvares was the first European to reach Hong Kong

1799

• China banned the drug trade in Hong Kong

1800

• Opium became a huge business

File:Opium.jpg

Opium flower

1839

• Lin Zexu was appointed Special Commissioner
• The First Opium war began

1841

• Hong Kong was given to the British and became a dependent territory of United Kingdom
• Lord Palmerston wrote that Hong Kong was nothing but a barren island without a house on it

January 26, 1841

• The British flag was raised at Possession Point, on Hong Kong Island

August 1841

• Sir Henry Pottinger became Hong Kong's first governor
• The Treaty of Nanjing was signed, ending the First Opium War

1860

• China was defeated in the Second Opium War. Boundary Street and Stonecutter's Island were leased to Britain

1888

• The Peak Tram started operating on Hong Kong Island

1898

• Lantau Island and the New Territories were leased to the British for 99 years

1900s

• Hong Kong became a refuge for exiles from China

1920s-1930s

• Western dress began to come in fashion for the locals

1933-1934

• Father Daniel Finn began excavations on Lamma Island

1941

• Refugees fleeing the Chinese Communist Party came to Hong Kong

File:HKUrbanCouncil.svg

Bauhinia × blakeana was adopted as the floral emblem of Hong Kong by the Urban Council in 1965.

File:Urban Council of Hong Kong Armorial Bearings.png

The armorial bearings granted by the College of Arms, appointed by the British Sovereign, a part of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom.

File:Regional Emblem of Hong Kong.svg

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China's emblem after it was given to China since 1997. The Chinese name of Bauhinia × blakeana has also been frequently shortened as 紫荊/紫荆 (洋 yáng means "foreign" in Chinese, and this would be deemed inappropriate by the PRC government), although 紫荊/紫荆 refers to another genus called Cercis. A statue of the plant has been erected in Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong. Although the flowers are bright pinkish purple in colour, they are depicted in white on the Flag of Hong Kong.

December 8, 1941

• The Empire of Japan invaded Hong Kong

December 25, 1941

• The British authorities surrendered Hong Kong to the Japanese Army

August 1945

• Britain reclaimed its territory after Japan's surrender

1949

• Double-decker buses were introduced to Hong Kong

1950

• Hong Kong became a free port

1953

• The Shek Kip Mei Estate was built, establishing the program of public housing

1955

• A Han period tomb was discovered near Lei Cheng Uk

1983

• The Hong Kong dollar was tied to the US dollar

1984

• China and Britain signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration

1990

• The Hong Kong Basic Law was confirmed

1997

• Asia's financial crisis
• Archaeologists discovered 20 graves on the island of Ma Wa
• Tung Chee Wa elected as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Voting was conducted by 400 committees of an electoral college whose members are appointed by the Chinese Government.

July 1, 1997

• Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China for 50 years

1998

• Hong Kong International Airport replaced Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon

June 2002

• Tung Chee Wa was elected as Chief Executive for a second term.

2003

• Citizens wanted a more democratic and republican system
• The SARS epidemic began

March 10, 2005

• Tung Chee Wa retired as chief executive because of health problems.

June 16, 2005

• Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was elected unopposed as Chief Executive.

March 2012

• Leung Chun Ying was elected as Chief Executive.

2014

• People occupied the Central region to demand universal suffrage for the next chief executive election, to take place in in 2017.

2015

• The government voted against the universal suffrage demanded by the people.

2016

• There were more protests in Mong Kok and police had to spray pepper spray on the people to get them to leave.

Media

Hong Kong has a few media companies, notably Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB).

Places in Hong Kong

• Hong Kong Disneyland
• Victoria Peak
• Ocean Park
• Man Mo Temple
• Repulse Bay
• Lo House Museum
• Hong Kong Park
• Yuen Po Street Bird Garden
• Hong Kong Museum of History
• Hong Kong Space Museum
• Hong Kong Museum of Science & Technology
• Wong Tai Sin Temple
• Lantau Link Visitors' Viewing Centre
• Fung Ying Sin Koon
• Sham Tung Uk
• Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha on Lantau Island (currently the largest bronze Buddha in world)
• Cheung Chau (Long Island)

Other websites

• "Hong Kong". The World Factbook. CIA. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.