Hong Kong Overview

Hong Kong Travel Overview introduces Hong Kong fast facts including the Basic Information, Population,Climate, Geography, Culture History, Economy, Natural Resources, landmarks, Administrative Diversions.

Basic Information

Geography

Hong Kong is located in southern China, east of the Pearl River Estuary, facing Macao across the sea in the west, adjacent to Shenzhen in the north and Wanshan Islands in Zhuhai in the south, about 200 kilometers away from Guangzhou. The area includes Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories and 262 surrounding islands. The total land area is 1106.3 square kilometers, including 80.7 square kilometers on Hong Kong Island, 46.9 square kilometers in Kowloon and 978.7 square kilometers in the New Territories. The sea area is 1648.7 square kilometers. 

Lantau Island and the majority of the remaining islands are part of the New Territories, an area that also encompasses the hilly terrain north of Kowloon. Hong Kong Island is separated from Kowloon by Victoria Harbour, a natural landform harbour. Further from Victoria Harbour and the coast, the landscape of Hong Kong is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes. The highest point in the territory is Tai Mo Shan, at a height of 958 metres in the New Territories. Lowlands exist in the northwestern part of the New Territories. Portions of land in the New Territories and Hong Kong island are reserved as country parks and nature reserves.

Climate

Located in a subtropical region, Hong Kong enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate, featuring distinct seasons with an annual average temperature of 23.3℃. The temperature may fall below 10℃ in winter and rise above 31℃ in summer. Rainfall is concentrated from May to September, accounting for about 80% of the annual rainfall. There is plenty of rainfall throughout the year, flowers bloom all the year round, spring is warm and foggy, summer is hot with plenty of rainfall, autumn is sunny and sunny, and winter is slightly dry and cold. Hong Hong climate features 4 distinct seasons: warm and humid spring, hot and rainy summer, sunny pleasant autumn and cold and dry winter. The area is prone to thunderstorms and cyclones from May to November as well as typhoon season in September.

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Administrative Divisions

Hong Kong territory is divided into three major regions covering 18 districts:

History

If you want to understand Hong Kong culture, you 'd better get to know the history of Hong Kong which formed the fusion culture of Hong Kong. Hong Kong was claimed by Great Britain in three steps: Hong Kong island was handed over to Britain by China "in perpetuity" in 1842 after the Opium War, the peninsula of Kowloon was ceded in 1860, and the New Territories were leased to the United Kingdom for ninety-nine years in 1898. he PRC never accepted these "Unequal Treaties," which it viewed as products of imperialism. The end of the lease to the New Territories led to the return of the entire territory to China.T he key to Hong Kong's emergence was its status as a free port at the edge of China, but the emergence of a national identity dates to the early 1970s, when a generation of young people born and raised in Hong Kong came of age.

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Population

The majority of the population is indigenous Chinese people, the non-Chinese making up only a tiny fraction of the total. Non-Chinese groups consist largely of Asians (primarily Filipinos, Indonesians, and South Asians), with small numbers of non-Asians (mainly Americans, Canadians, and Australians). According to 2017 statistics, the proportion of Chinese in Hong Kong's population is about 91.4%. Other nationalities include Philippines (about 190,000, 2.6%), Indonesia (about 170,000, 2.3%) and India (about 33,000, 0.4%). An overwhelming majority of the Chinese are from Guangdong province and from Hong Kong itself, with smaller numbers coming from other parts of China such as Shanghai.

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Culture

Hong Kong has amazing fusion culture of traditional Chinese culture and colonial culture. The culture of Hong Kong, or Hongkongers culture, can best be described as a foundation that began with Lingnan's Cantonese culture which later became influenced by British culture due to British colonialism, forming the amazing fusion culture. Moreover, Hong Kong also has indigenous people, whose cultures have been absorbed into modern day Hong Kong culture. If you want to understand Hong Kong culture, you 'd better get to know the history of Hong Kong which formed the fusion culture of Hong Kong. Diverse religion culture, colorful food culture, advanced architecture culture, splendid art and performance culture as well as special folk customs contribute to the Hongkongers culture.

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Transportation

There are four major ways for you to get to Hong Kong: by air, by train, by ferry or by long-distance bus. Most international tourists choose plane as their major way of getting to Hong Kong. If you are visiting other cities of China, you can also choose trains and ferries, as well as long-distance buses. If you travel to Hong Kong by air, you will land at Hong Kong International Airport , Airport Express and Airport Shuttle Bus to Hotel will be helpful to you. Hong Kong – Macau Helicopter provides convenient and fast transportation for your travel to Macau. If you want to tranfer to other major mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guilin, etc, high speed trains are available besides the planes. As for inner transportation, it’s easy to get around Hong Kong using just the MTR. It’s convenient and inexpensive, you can also choose bus, tram and taxi. As advised, it’s best that you get an Octopus Card especially if you plan on using public transportation a lot. You’ll never have to get single journey tickets or fish for exact change if you need to take the bus. It’s accepted on the Peak Tram as well and you can use it to ride these iconic double decker trams to travel between east and west on Hong Kong Island.

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Things to Do

Bars, museums, attractions, art galleries and a whole lot of shopping are all in our list of the best things to do in HK. Home to towering skyscrapers and picturesque hiking trails, hong kong is a truly vibrant and beautiful city. From Victoria's Peak to dim sum dinners and visits to outlying islands like Lantau and Cheung Chau, there's plenty to keep you happily entertained. 

Top Attractions in Hong Kong

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Hike up to Victoria Peak

If only one place can be visited and only one photo can be taken in Hong Kong, at least 50% of the people will choose Taiping Peak. Looking down from the summit of Taiping Mountain, which reached the highest point in Hong Kong, the development of urbanization has brought Hong Kong an excellent sense of beauty. Be sure to take the 100-year-old Peak Tram. As the old red car slowly climbs up the hill, it leaves the downtown area, then it is surrounded by mountains and canyons. Finally, it skips over trees. The view suddenly widened, the panorama of Victoria Harbour slowly unfolds before your eyes. After the lights are fully turned on at night, the exquisite night view of Victoria Harbour is definitely the most classic feature of Hong Kong.

Explore the City on a Big Bus Tour

The Big Bus Tour is the easiest and most convenient way of seeing a city’s top attractions. Double decker buses ply set routes and you can get on and off as often as you like at designated stops for the duration of your pass. The Big Bus Tour will take you to the most popular attractions in Hong Kong like the Peak Tram, Causeway Bay, Ladies’ Market, Lan Kwai Fong, and Repulse Bay. 

 Enjoy the View from Sky100

Hong Kong’s skyline is magnificent so if the views at Sky Terrace 428 aren’t enough for you, then you can head up to Sky100 which is a 360° indoor observation deck on the 100th floor of the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon. Named by CNN as one of 17 beautiful places to see in Hong Kong, shooting up to its observatory will reward you with breathtaking views of the city and harbor.

Hop on the Iconic Star Ferry

The Star Ferry is not only a cheap and convenient way of public transportation across the sea in Victoria Harbour, but also a romantic experience of enjoying the sea views on both sides. When taking the Star Ferry, you must choose a window seat or a seat on the second floor so that you can see the beautiful scenery of Victoria Harbour. As the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island get closer and higher, the broad view of Victoria Harbour is full of your vision. Sitting on the upper deck of the 100-year-old ferry, you can feel the ups and downs of the waves slowly and leisurely, and you can see the beautiful scenery everywhere. Wandering in the night view of Victoria Harbour at night, the scenery outside the window will definitely make you forget the tiredness of the day.

Make Your Fairy Tales Come True at Disneyland

Disneyland is the ideal paradise for every girl and child. The strong sense of substitution can make you feel like the hero of the fairy tale world in a trance. Wonderful and interesting entertainment and games continue day and night, even reluctant to blink. When you are happy with your eyes, don't forget to take photos. 

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Economy

Brief Intro

The economy of Hong Kong is a highly developed free-market economy characterised by low taxation, almost free port trade and well-established international financial market. Its currency, called the Hong Kong dollar, is legally issued by three major international commercial banks, and is pegged to the US dollar. Interest rates are determined by the individual banks in Hong Kong to ensure they are market driven. There is no officially recognised central banking system, although the Hong Kong Monetary Authority functions as a financial regulatory authority.

Hong Kong's economic strengths include a sound banking system, virtually no public debt, a strong legal system, ample foreign exchange reserves at around US $408 billion as of mid-2017, rigorous anti-corruption measures and close ties with mainland China. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a favourable destination for international firms and firms from mainland China to be listed due to Hong Kong's highly internationalised and modernised financial industry along with its capital market in Asia, its size, regulations and available financial tools, which are comparable to London and New York.

In the history of Hong Kong's economic development, Hong Kong has experienced two economic transformations. Before 1950, Hong Kong's economy was dominated by entrepot trade. From the 1950s onwards, Hong Kong began its industrialization. By 1970, industrial exports accounted for 81% of its total exports, marking Hong Kong's transformation from a mere entrepot to an industrialized city and the first transformation of Hong Kong's economy. In the early 1970s, Hong Kong implemented the policy of economic diversification. Hong Kong's finance, real estate, trade and tourism developed rapidly. Especially since the 1980s, mainland factors have become the most important external factors to promote Hong Kong's economic development. Most of Hong Kong's manufacturing industries have moved to the mainland. All kinds of service industries have developed at an all-round and high speed, realizing the second economic transformation from manufacturing industries to service industries.

Current Status

The Mainland is Hong Kong's major trading partner while Hong Kong is the sixth largest trading partner and the fourth largest export market of the Mainland. In 2018, the trade volume of goods between the Mainland and Hong Kong was 310.56 billion US dollars, accounting for 6.7% of the total foreign trade volume of the Mainland. At the same time, Hong Kong is also the largest source of foreign investment in the Mainland. By the end of 2018, the mainland had approved 457,000 Hong Kong-funded projects, with the actual use of Hong Kong-funded projects totaling 109.9 billion US dollars. According to statistics on the actual use of foreign capital, Hong Kong-funded projects accounted for 54.03% of the total amount of overseas investment to the mainland.

Hong Kong is also the world's seventh largest trading economy and one of the world's major exporters of garments, watches, jewelry, toys, games, electronics and some light industrial products. In 2018, Hong Kong's total trade in goods was 9.17 trillion Hong Kong dollars, of which 4.46 trillion Hong Kong dollars were exported and 4.71 trillion Hong Kong dollars were imported. The total trade in services was HK$ 1.53 trillion, of which HK$ 0.89 trillion was exported and HK$ 0.64 trillion was imported.

Hong Kong's economy is extremely dependent on trade, and the combined value of imports and exports is equivalent to 373% of its GDP. The average amount of tariff is typically 0%; however, there are some non-tariff barriers which to some extent affect certain types of trade. In Hong Kong there is no screening of foreign investment and foreigners can maintain 100% of ownership most of the time. The financial sector is very competitive and highly capitalized with, and the territory is one of the leading hubs in the world. The economic growth in Hong Kong is anticipated to slow down to 2.3% in 2019, and it is projected to go down further as US-China trade war continues to rage on coupled with local property downturn.

Natural Resources

Mineral Resource

Despite its small size, Hong Kong has a relatively large number of mineral occurrences, including iron, aluminum, zinc, tungsten, beryl, graphite, etc. Some mineral deposits have been exploited commercially. Mesozoic igneous activity was largely responsible for this diversity of mineral deposits and the mineral concentrations have been variably enhanced by hydrothermal activity associated with faulting.

Arable Land

Hong Kong has little land which is considered arable and has comparatively few natural resources and therefore imports most of its food items. Hong Kong imports about 90% of food supplies which includes items like rice and meat. Agriculture accounts for only 0.1% of the GDP and consists of premium foods and flowers.

Animal Husbandry

Animal husbandry is practiced across the territory of Hong Kong, and by 2004 there were 205 poultry farms and 281 farms rearing pigs. Currently, brand names of chickens such as Tai on and Ka Mei have become common with farmers, and they were introduced at the local market by different investors. Presently there are two dairies in operation having a population of fewer than 50 cows.

Marine Resource

Hong Kong is adjacent to the continental shelf, with a vast ocean area and numerous islands. The fishery production environment is unique. It produces more than 150 kinds of marine fish of commercial value, mainly including red shirt fish, nine-stick fish, big eye fish, yellow croaker, yellow belly fish and squid. Fishing activities in Hong Kong are carried out mainly in its waters found on the continental shelf of East China and south sea, an area which stretches about 99.5 square miles wide. About 31% of the seafood consumed in Hong Kong is primarily from the marine fish culture production and capture fisheries, while 6% of freshwater fish consumed in Hong Kong is from pond fish farmers. Currently, in Hong Kong, there are about 26 fish culture zones, which are under the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance.

Harbors

Hong Kong has numerous natural harbors spread across the island, and these include Victoria Harbor, Aberdeen Harbor, Double Haven Harbor, Port Shelter Harbor, Inner Port Shelter Harbor, Tolo Harbor, Tai Ham Harbor, Rocky Harbor, and Three Fathoms Cove Harbor.

Hong Kong Overview by Region