Hong Kong
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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is located on the southeastern coast of China.
Hong Kong (also known as Hongkong, especially in the older days) has one of the world's most liberal economies and is a major international centre of finance and trade. As a former British colony, Hong Kong is constitutionally entitled to a relatively high degree of autonomy; for example, it retains its own legal system, currency, customs, treaty negotiating rights, such as air traffic and aircraft landing rights, and immigration laws. Hong Kong even maintains its own road rules, with traffic continuing to drive on the left.
History
Main article: History of Hong Kong
Even though Hong Kong has been occupied since the Neolithic Age, the area now
known as Hong Kong only began to attract the attention of China and the rest
of the world in the 19th century when it was ceded to Britain after the Opium
Wars. Hong Kong was first visited by a European in 1513, the Portuguese mariner
Jorge Alvares. Alvares began trading with the Chinese, and the Portuguese continued
to make periodic trade stops at various locations up and down the coast.
Kowloon Peninsula south of Boundary Street and Stonecutter's Island were 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, beginning on 1 July 1898 and ending on 30 June 1997. Hong Kong became a crown colony in 1843. For the first twenty years there was little contact between the European and Chinese communities. The first specially recruited Hong Kong civil servants to be taught Cantonese were recruited in 1862, markedly improving relations.
Tea, silk, and other Asian luxury goods were introduced in Europe by the Portuguese, and by the mid-18th century, these items were in high demand, particularly tea. The British, challenging China's near monopoly on the tea industry, invaded China, winning the First Opium War in 1841. During the war, Hong Kong Island was first occupied by the British, and was formally ceded by the Qing Dynasty of China in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking.Hong Kong entered a dark age during the Japanese Occupation of World War II, which lasted for three years and eight months. Many Hong Kong people were executed by the Japanese army during the war. The Japanese subsequently surrendered on 15 August 1945.
GeographyThe name "Hong Kong", literally meaning "fragrant harbour", is derived from the area around present-day Aberdeen and Wong Chuk Hang on Hong Kong Island, where fragrant trees were once abundant and exported from. The body of water between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula is Victoria Harbour, one of the deepest maritime ports in the world. 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. Lowlands exist in the northwestern part of the New Territories.
Hong Kong is 60 km to the east of Macau on the opposite side of the Pearl River estuary. Hong Kong has a land border with the Chinese city of Shenzhen to the north. Of the territory's 1,102 km2, only less than 25 % is developed. The remaining land has been reserved as country parks and nature reserves.
Hong Kong's climate is subtropical and prone to monsoons. It is cool and dry in the wintertime which lasts from around January to March, and is hot and rainy from spring through summer. It is warm, sunny, and dry in autumn. Hong Kong occasionally has typhoons. The ecology of Hong Kong is mostly affected by the results of climatic changes. Hong Kong's climate is seasonal due to alternating wind direction between winter and summer. Hong Kong has been geologically stable for millions of years. However, flora and fauna in Hong Kong are altered by climatic change, sea level alternation and human impact. The highest recorded temperature[10] in Hong Kong is 40 degrees Celsius while the lowest recorded temperature is 0 degrees. The average temperature in the coldest month, February, is 16 degrees while the average temperature in the hottest month, July, is 28 degrees.
Hong Kong's climate is subtropical but half of the year is temperate. The territory is situated south of the Tropic of Cancer which is equatable to Hawaii in latitude. In winter, strong and cold winds generate from the north and cool the city; in the summer, the wind's direction reverses and brings the warm and humid air in from the south. This climate can support a tropical rainforest.
Economy
Hong Kong has one of the least restricted economies in world and is basically duty-free. It is the world's 10th largest [11] trading entity and 11th largest [12] banking centre. The dominant presence of international trade is reflected in the number of consulates located in the territory: As of June 2005, Hong Kong had 107 consulates and consulates-general, more than any other city in the world. Even New York City, host of the United Nations, only has 93 consulates.
The objective of Hong Kong's monetary policy is to maintain currency stability. Given the highly externally oriented nature of the economy, this objective was further defined as a stable external value for the Hong Kong dollar in terms of a linked exchange rate against the US dollar at the rate of HK$7.80 to one United States dollar until 2005, when it was allowed to trade within a band of HK$7.75-$7.85.
Hong Kong has limited natural resources, and most food and raw materials must be imported. In fact, imports and exports (including re-exports) exceed the GDP of Hong Kong. These ties and its autonomous status enable it to be the middleman between the Republic of China on Taiwan and the mainland. Flights, investment, and trade from Taiwan go through Hong Kong to get to the mainland. The service sector represented 86.5 % [13] of the GDP in 2001. The territory, with a highly sophisticated banking sector and good communication links, hosts the Asian headquarters of many multinational corporations.
At USD 24,080 [14] in 2004, the nominal per capita GDP of Hong Kong is somewhat lower than that of the four big economies of western Europe. However, it would be ranked 11th in terms of per capita GDP (PPP) in the world (USD 32,292), which is even higher than Japan (USD 31,384), making Hong Kong one of the richest territorial regions in Asia.
Growth averaged a strong 8.9% per annum in real terms in the 1970s and 7.2% p.a. in the 1980s. As the economy shifted to services (manufacturing currently accounts for just 4% of GDP), growth slowed to 2.7% p.a. in the 1990s, including a 5.3% decline in 1998, due to the Asian Financial Crisis' impact on demand in the region. Growth since 2000 has averaged 5.2% p.a. amid strong deflation.
The economy rebounded rapidly, growing by 10 % in 2000. A world-wide global downturn and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak reduced economic growth to 2.3 % in 2002. Thereafter, a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, a return of consumer confidence, and a solid rise in exports resulted in the resumption of strong growth in late 2003 and 2004, with growth averaging 6.5% in the first half of 2005.
To further increase economic co-operation between Hong Kong and the mainland, the Individual Visit Scheme was started on 28 July 2003, which allows travellers from some cities in mainland China to visit Hong Kong without an accompanying tour group. As a result, the tourism industry in Hong Kong is booming due to an exponential increase in the number of visitors from mainland China. The upsurge is also boosted by the recent opening of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.
A revival in both external and domestic demand led to a strong upswing in growth in 2004, surging to 8.2 % for the year. The domestic sector completely shrugged off its earlier sluggishness, and the general weakness of the Hong Kong dollar, when included with the still modest cost and price pressures in Hong Kong, has resulted in a strengthening in Hong Kong's external price competitiveness. In addition, Hong Kong's 68-month-long deflationary spiral, the longest and highest deflation [15] according to Guinness World Records, ended in mid-2004, with consumer price inflation hovering at near zero levels.
Along with Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, ROC ( Repulic of China ), Hong Kong's fast-paced industrialisation earned it a place as one of the four original East Asian Tigers.
Demographics
The population of Hong Kong increased markedly during the 1990s, reaching 6.94 million in 2005. About 96 % of Hong Kong's population is Chinese, the majority of which are Cantonese. Groups such as the Hakka and Teochew are also substantial. Used in government matters, Cantonese is spoken by most of the local Chinese population at home and in the office, although English is also widely understood and spoken by more than one-third of the population. Since the Handover, a new group of immigrants from mainland China have increased the ethnic diversity of the Chinese population in the territory.
The remaining 4 % of the population is composed of non-Chinese, who form a highly visible group, despite their small numbers.
Among these is a significant South Asian population, which includes some of Hong Kong's wealthiest families. Some Nepalis residing in Hong Kong are Gurkhas, who chose to stay after their service to Britain, and their descendants. More than 15,000 Vietnamese, who came to Hong Kong as refugees, have become permanent residents, with the majority of whom surviving on casual work. Around 140,000 Filipinos work in Hong Kong as housekeepers, often known locally as amahs, or feiyungs, with other such workers coming from Thailand and Indonesia. On Sundays and public holidays, thousands of these workers, the majority of whom are women, gather in Central to socialise. There are also a number of Europeans, North Americans, Japanese, and Koreans, largely working in Hong Kong's financial sector. The top three sources of migration to Hong Kong are the Philippines (132,770), Indonesia (95,460), and the United States (31,330).
Hong Kong is the fifth largest metropolitan area of the PRC by population. Considered as a dependency, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated countries/dependencies in the world, with an overall density of more than 6,200 people per km2. Hong Kong has a fertility rate of .94 children per woman [16], one of the lowest in the world, and far below the 2.1 children per woman required to maintain an even population level. However, population is continuously growing due to immigration of about 45,000 people per year from mainland China.
Despite the population density, Hong Kong was reported [17] to be one of the greenest cities in Asia. The majority of people live in flats in high-rise buildings. The rest of the open spaces are often covered with parks, woods and shrubs. About 60 % of the land [18] is designated as Country Parks and Nature Reserves. Hiking and camping are popular outdoor activities in Hong Kong's hilly country parks. The irregular and long coastline of Hong Kong also provides many bays and fine beaches for its inhabitants. Environmental concern and awareness is growing, however, as Hong Kong also ranks as one of the most (air-)polluted cities in the world. Estimates are that 70-80% of the city's air pollution comes from other parts of the PRD.
Education
A former British colony, Hong Kong's education system is based upon that of the United Kingdom, and in particular, the system used in England. In Hong Kong, there is a non-compulsory three-year kindergarten, which is followed by a compulsory six-year primary education, three-year junior secondary education, and a non-compulsory two-year senior secondary education leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations and a two-year matriculation course leading to the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations. There are also tertiary institutions offering various bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, other higher diplomas, and associate degree courses.
In general, three
types of comprehensive schools exist in Hong Kong. There are government schools,
which are relatively rare, and subsidised schools (government-aided schools,
grant schools), run by charitable (often Christian, but Buddhist, Taoist, Islamic
and Confucian as well) organisations with government funding, to which most
students go. Most private schools are run by Christian organisations as well;
admissions are based more on academic merit than on financial resources. Outside
this system are the schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) and private
international schools, which provide an alternative to the high-pressured mainstream
education in exchange for much higher tuition fees.
A popular destination for shoppers from around the world, Hong Kong has everything to offer from the latest European fashion to traditional Chinese wares. Malls, department stores, and designer boutiques offer an amazing contrast to the bustling open-air Stanley Market and Jade Market shopping areas. Every district in Hong Kong has old-fashioned stores that sell Chinese herbal medicine. The largest concentration of these shops is along Bonham Strand and Bonham Strand West in Sheung Wan, where all types of pills, plants, and dried animals are for sale.
Hong Kong has an active nightlife centred around two major entertainment districts, Lan Kwai Fong (Central) and Wanchai. Both areas are frequented by expats and locals alike. For a more quiet evening, a trip to Victoria Peak offers a spectacular view of the city. There is also a promenade along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, which is popular among young Chinese couples. Shopping, a form of entertainment for the people of Hong Kong, is even done at nightime as evident in the Temple Street Night Market.
The city's cosmopolitan flavour can also be seen in the wide variety of cuisines available. While different varieties of Chinese selections, especially seafood, are most popular, there also many European, American, Japanese, Korean, and other restaurants. Ethnical dishes served in cha chaan teng and dai pai dong are also popular. The people of Hong Kong take their food seriously and many top chefs make their way to the city to show off their talents to these discriminating diners.
The world famous Hong Kong International Dragonboat Festival, now known as the Circus Capital Stanley Dragon Boat Championships, is a celebration of community that is televised globally.
TransportHong Kong Island is dominated by steep, hilly terrain, which required the development of unusual methods of transport up and down the slopes. In Central and Western district there is an extensive system of escalators and moving sidewalks, including the longest outdoor covered elevator system in the world, the Mid-levels Escalator.
Hong Kong has several different modes of public rail transport. The two metro systems for the city are the MTR and KCR (KCR also operates a light rail system in northwest New Territories), which are operated by the MTR Corporation Limited and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation respectively. The tramway system covers a large area and is the only tram system in the world run exclusively with double deckers.
Five separate companies operate franchised public bus services in Hong Kong. Double-decker buses were introduced to Hong Kong in 1949. They are now used almost exclusively in Hong Kong just as in London and Singapore. However, single-decker buses remain in use for routes with lower demand or roads with lower carrying capacity and are used exclusively in South Lantau. Most normal franchised bus routes in Hong Kong operate until midnight. Public light buses run the length and breadth of Hong Kong, through areas where standard bus lines cannot reach or do not reach as frequently, quickly, or directly. Taxis are also widely used throughout Hong Kong. 99% of taxis in Hong Kong run on liquefied petroleum gas, the rest are still diesel operated.Most ferry services are provided by licensed ferry operators, which serve outlying islands, new towns, and inner-Victoria Harbour. The two routes operated by the Star Ferry are franchised. Additionally, 78 "kai-to" ferries are licensed to serve remote coastal settlements.
Hong Kong has one active international airport, known as Hong Kong International Airport located at Chek Lap Kok. This replaced the famous airport of the same name at Kai Tak in 1998. After dreadful delays in the cargo systems in the first few months, the airport now serves as a transport hub for Southeast Asia, and as the hub for Cathay Pacific Airways, Dragonair, Air Hong Kong and Hong Kong Express. Additionally, both Hong Kong International Airport and Cathay Pacific Airways have been voted best in the world, in the airport and airline criteria respectively, by Skytrax. Hong Kong International Airport serves more than 36 million passengers in the year 2004.
Access to the airport includes 'Airport Buses' or 'Airbuses', These services connect the airport to the rest of Hong Kong. The Airport Express zooms passengers to Central on Hong Kong Island in just 23 minutes. Recent opening of Sunny Bay Station of the MTR allows easy access to the Disneyland Resort.