Hong Kong

Hong Kong, special administrative region (Pinyin: tebie xingzhengqu; Wade-Giles romanization: t’e-pieh hsing-cheng-ch’ü) of China, located to the east of the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) estuary on the south coast of China. The region is bordered by Guangdong province to the north and the South China Sea to the east, south, and west. It consists of Hong Kong Island, originally ceded by China to Great Britain in 1842, the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters (Ngong Shuen) Island (now joined to the mainland), ceded in 1860, and the New Territories, which include the mainland area lying largely to the north, together with 230 large and small offshore islands—all of which were leased from China for 99 years from 1898 to 1997. The Chinese-British joint declaration signed on December 19, 1984, paved the way for the entire territory to be returned to China, which occurred July 1, 1997.

The area of Hong Kong (Pinyin: Xianggang; Wade-Giles: Hsiang-kang) has expanded over the years, and it has continued to grow as more land has been reclaimed from the surrounding sea. Hong Kong Island and its adjacent islets have an area of only about 31 square miles (81 square km), while urban Kowloon, which includes the Kowloon Peninsula south of Boundary Street, and Stonecutters Island measure about 18 square miles (47 square km). The New Territories account for the rest of the area—more than 90 percent of the total. The Victoria urban district located on the barren rocks of the northwestern coast of Hong Kong Island is the place where the British first landed in 1841, and it has since been the centre of administrative and economic activities.

Hong Kong developed initially on the basis of its excellent natural harbour (its Chinese name means “fragrant harbour”) and the lucrative China trade, particularly opium dealing. It was the expansion of its territory, however, that provided labour and other resources necessary for sustained commercial growth that led to its becoming one of the world’s major trade and financial centres. The community remains limited in space and natural resources, and it faces persistent problems of overcrowding, trade fluctuations, and social and political unrest. Nevertheless, Hong Kong has emerged strong and prosperous, albeit with a changed role, as an entrepôt, a manufacturing and financial centre, and a vital agent in the trade and modernization of China.

Hong Kong has rugged relief and marked variations in topography, which is in sharp contrast to the low-lying areas of the Pearl River Delta region but conforms geologically and structurally to the well-eroded upland region of the great South China massif. Structurally, the area is an upfold, running northeast-southwest, that was formed about 150 million years ago toward the latter part of the pre-history. Lava poured into this structure and formed volcanic rocks that were later intruded by an extensive granitic dome. The harbour of Hong Kong was formed by the drowning of the denuded centre of the dome. The surrounding hills on the mainland and on Hong Kong Island are partly capped by volcanic rocks, and steep, scarplike concave slopes lead to the inner harbour.

The area is a partially submerged, dissected upland terrain that rises abruptly to heights above 2,950 feet (900 metres); its backbone is made up of a series of ridges, running northeast to southwest, that tie in closely with the structural trend in South China. This trend is clearly observable from the alignment of Lantau Island and the Tolo Channel. From Mount Tai Mo—at 3,140 feet (957 metres) the highest peak in the territory—the series of ridges extends southwestward to Lantau Island, where the terrain rises to 3,064 feet (934 metres) on Lantau Peak and 2,851 feet (869 metres) on Sunset Peak. Extending southeastward from Mount Tai Mo, the Kowloon Peak attains an elevation of 1,975 feet (602 metres), but there is an abrupt drop to about 650 feet (198 metres) at Devil’s Peak. Victoria (Hong Kong) Harbour is well protected by mountains on Hong Kong Island that include Victoria Peak in the west, which rises to 1,810 feet (552 metres), and Mount Parker in the east, which reaches a height of about 1,742 feet (531 metres).

Lowlands of the Hong Kong region, including floodplains, river valleys, and reclaimed land, occupy less than one-fifth of the land. Extensive lowland regions are found only north of Mount Tai Mo, in the Yuen Long and Sheung Shui plains. The urban area that spans the two sides of the harbour, with ongoing reclamation, takes up only about one-tenth of the level area.

Hong Kong lacks a river system of any scope, the only exception being in the north where the Sham Chun (Shenzhen) River, which forms the boundary between Guangdong and Hong Kong, flows into Deep Bay after collecting a number of small tributaries. Most of the streams are small, and they generally run perpendicular to the northeast-southwest trend of the terrain. The construction of reservoirs and their catchment systems has reduced the amount of fresh water available downstream.

In general, Hong Kong’s soils are acidic and of low fertility. An exception is the alluvial soils, which are found mainly in the Deep Bay area, where the sediment-laden waters of the Pearl River estuary meet saline waters at high tide and slow down to deposit their sediments to form mudflats. Paddy rice farming and, more recently, intensive vegetable cultivation have modified the alluvial soils. Elsewhere, hill soils, classified as red-yellow podzolic and krasnozem, abound. Under forest, these hill soils have a well-developed profile, with rich topsoil, but, when they are exposed, as is mostly the case, they tend to be thin and lacking in nutrients. Under tropical conditions, sheet and gully erosion is extensive and drastic.

Hong Kong lies at the northern fringe of the tropical zone. Its monsoonal (wet-dry) seasonal changes are well marked, however, with hot, humid summers and cool, dry winters. The climate is largely controlled by the atmospheric pressure systems over the adjacent great Asian landmass and ocean surface. Thus, relatively dry monsoonal winds blow from the northeast in winter as a result of the cooling of the landmass and the development of a large thermal anticyclone over Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Warm, wet southeasterly winds develop in summer when the North Pacific Ocean heats up more slowly through solar radiation and becomes a high-pressure area.

The mean January and July temperatures are about 60 °F (16 °C) and 84 °F (29 °C), respectively. The lowest recorded temperature was 32 °F (0 °C) in January 1893, and the highest was 97 °F (36 °C) in August 1900. Frost occasionally occurs on hilltops in winter. The average annual rainfall amounts to about 88 inches (2,220 mm), more than half of which falls during the summer months of June, July, and August; only about 10 percent falls from November to March. Tropical cyclones, or typhoons, generally occur between June and October, and, of the 20 to 30 typhoons formed over the western North Pacific and South China Sea each year, an average of five or six may affect Hong Kong. The torrential downpours and strong winds that frequently accompany the typhoons sometimes devastate life and property in Hong Kong and in adjacent areas of Guangdong.

Hong Kong is noted for the lushness and great diversity of its plant life. The transitional climate between humid subtropical and warm temperate maritime excludes the most sensitive humid tropical genera due to the cool, dry winter conditions, but many tropical as well as temperate-zone families are represented. Most of the land, except for the heavily eroded badlands, is under tropical herbaceous growth, including mangrove and other swamp cover. The most common forest genus today is Pinus, represented by native South China red pines and by slash pines, introduced from Australia. Some of the oldest areas of woodland are in the feng-shui wood, or “sacred groves,” found in many New Territories villages. These woods consist essentially of native forest trees, some of which are of potential value to the villagers. Centuries of cutting and burning, however, have destroyed much of Hong Kong’s original vegetation, leaving only about one-sixth of the land forested. A large portion of Hong Kong’s present-day forest cover owes its origin to afforestation programs undertaken since World War II, which have restored some of the stands of pine, eucalyptus, banyan, casuarina, and palm trees.

Hong Kong’s animal life consists of a mixture of mammals adapted to the subtropical environment. Among the few arboreal mammals are two species of nonnative monkeys that flourish in forests of the New Territories, the rhesus macaque and the long-tailed macaque. Tigers are reputed to have once roamed the area, but they are no longer in evidence. The largest remaining carnivores are rare and include the South China red fox, the Chinese leopard cat, the seven-banded civet, and the masked palm civet. Some rat and mouse species typically inhabit scrubland and grassland areas. Birdlife is abundant, and there are numerous species of snakes, lizards, and frogs.

The overwhelming majority of the population is Chinese by place of origin, 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). An overwhelming majority of the Chinese are from Guangdong province and from Hong Kong itself, with smaller numbers coming from other parts of China.

Chinese and English are both official languages. Chinese, especially Cantonese in the spoken form, is the common language, however, and is almost universally understood. A variety of dialects and other languages are used among the ethnic minorities. Apart from Cantonese, common dialects such as Teochew, Hakka, and Tanka are used within separate communities of the Guangdong and Hong Kong Chinese. Groups from other parts of China are also likely to use their own native dialects, and, similarly, the non-Chinese are likely to use their own native languages among themselves. The use of Mandarin Chinese has risen as Hong Kong has reintegrated with China.

The majority of Hong Kong’s population does not profess a religion. Those that do practice a wide variety of beliefs. Among the Chinese, followers of Buddhism and Daoism far outnumber other groups; a large number also follow Confucianist beliefs. The numerous Buddhist and Daoist temples and monasteries, some centuries old, play an important role in the daily life of the average Chinese. Although each temple is generally dedicated to one or two deities, it is not unusual to find images of a number of other gods or goddesses inside. For a fishing and trading port, the most significant deities are those associated with the ocean and the weather, such as Dian Hau, the goddess of heaven and protector of seafarers, who is honoured by temples at virtually every fishing harbour. Other leading deities include Guanyin (Avalokitesvara), the Buddhist bodhisattva of mercy; Hong Shing, god of the South Seas and a weather prophet; and Wong Daisin, a Daoist saint and deity. A small proportion of the people are Christians, with somewhat more Protestants than Roman Catholics; there are dozens of Protestant denominations and sects such as Baptist, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist. There are also small numbers of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jews.

The predominantly urban settlements of Hong Kong are typically distributed linearly, following the irregular coastline and transportation routes. The principal urban areas are established on Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, where roughly half of the total population lives. There, most of the population is concentrated around Victoria Harbour, living on the limited flatland that is being continuously extended by reclamation. Many major streets, especially those on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, as well as the entire industrial district of Kwun Tong and much of the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula, have been built on reclaimed land.

In the New Territories north of the Kowloon hills, rural settlements vary from hamlets to small towns. Most of the villages, compactly built and often walled, follow the alignment of the river systems in the low-lying but fertile alluvial floodplains or the major route corridors. Villages of the Cantonese people are located mainly in the flat alluvial regions, whereas villages of the Hakka people usually are found in narrow valleys or on foothills. The feng-shui grove and pond are characteristic of both the Cantonese and Hakka villages: the grove is generally planted on the upslope, or back side, of a village for shade and protection, and the pond is for fish-farming.

A number of new towns have sprung up in the New Territories as a result of the tremendous increase in population there. Among these are Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun (Castle Peak before 1973), and Sha Tin, which were established in the 1960s and designed to have populations of between about 500,000 and 850,000 each. Others, including Tai Po, Fanling, Yuen Long, and, more recently, Tseung Kwon O (Junk Bay), were designated as new towns in the 1970s, with population goals ranging from about 200,000 to 450,000. Thus, the New Territories, where only one-eighth of the population resided in 1961, accounted for more than half of the total by 2005; the bulk of the New Territories population is now concentrated in the new towns.

True to its original character as a fishing port, Hong Kong has a sizable, though rapidly dwindling, marine settlement. The “boat people,” or Tanka as they are locally known, are essentially fisherfolk living on junks and boats, as their ancestors did for centuries before them. They inhabit fishing towns, such as Aberdeen, Shau Kei Wan, and Cheung Chau, and typhoon shelters in the harbour areas. With the advance of urbanization and the decline of fishing activity, increasing numbers of them are working ashore.

As in many large urban centres of the world, Hong Kong’s population has increased in the late 20th century. Since the 1950s the average annual rate of growth has fluctuated between about 2 and 4 percent, the variations based in some degree on the sporadic flow of immigrants from China. Immigration has been a chief cause of population increase, but it was slowed through changes in immigration policy in 1980 and 1982, and emigration rose from the late 1980s. Birth rates have steadily declined since the late 1950s, the rate of natural increase falling below 1 percent by the 1980s. Life expectancy, however, has been showing a gradual increase. Since the 1950s, the proportion of the population under 15 has decreased rapidly, while older age groups have shown a marked increase. Hong Kong is one of the world’s most densely populated places.

With its limited natural resources, Hong Kong depends on imports for virtually all of its requirements, including raw materials, food and other consumer goods, capital goods, and fuel. Under its unique status as an international free port, entrepôt trade, mainly with China, flourished until 1951, when a United Nations embargo on trade with China and North Korea drastically curtailed it. This situation, combined with the need to export and with the availability of cheap labour, led to the establishment of competitive light industries and a transformation of the economy in the early 1960s. The market economy and the laissez-faire policy of the British colonial government provided flexibility for further industrialization and the incentive and freedom, from the late 1960s, to attract foreign investment and financial transactions. In succeeding years, with China adopting a more open foreign policy, entrepôt trade rapidly revived, while Hong Kong–China trade surged. Hong Kong developed not only in manufacturing, trade, and shipping but also as a regional financial centre and as an agent in China’s pursuit of modernization. The tertiary (services) sector of the economy now makes up some four-fifths of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Only 6 percent of Hong Kong’s land area is arable, and another 2 percent is under fishponds. Since the 1950s about one-third of the agricultural land has been lost to other uses. The growing season is year-round, however, and several crops per year are possible. Paddy rice cultivation once dominated agricultural land use, but it has practically disappeared, having been surpassed by vegetable and pond fish farming. Other minor uses include the production of fruits, flowers, and crops such as sweet potatoes, taro, yams, and sugarcane. There also is some livestock farming, mainly of chickens and pigs.

Marine fishing in the adjacent waters is one of Hong Kong’s most important primary activities. Apart from pond fish, a marine fish culture has shown signs of development, notably in the eastern New Territories.

Hong Kong is practically devoid of any significant mineral resources. The mining for graphite and lead at Cham (“Needle”) Hill and iron ore at Mount Ma On stopped long ago. The small-scale mining of feldspar, feldspar sand, and kaolin clay ceased by 1990. Some stone is quarried for use in construction. Hong Kong is similarly poorly endowed in other natural resources: no commercial timber is produced from its sparse forest cover, and there is no hydroelectric potential from the small and short streams. Indeed, even water has been in serious short supply as a consequence of the limited areal extent, the steep terrain, and the lack of catchment areas. In spite of the many reservoirs, which were built mostly before World War II, and several giant projects, such as the water desalinization plant at Castle Peak and the Plover Cove and the High Island reservoirs, which are enclosed sea areas, the bulk of water consumed is piped in from Guangdong province.

Hong Kong must import all of the fossil fuel it consumes. It produces most of its electric-power needs at thermal generating plants. The rest of its power requirements are imported from Guangdong province.

The rapid development of manufacturing in the 1950s was made possible by immigrant Chinese industrialists, mainly from Shanghai, who brought with them technology and capital. Foreign investments soon began to flow in to tap the huge supply of cheap labour and relatively cheap raw materials available in the surrounding region. Most industry has been confined to the urban areas, especially in the densely populated districts of Kowloon. With the development of industrial and other new towns, manufacturing began to disperse into Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, and other areas. In 1977 the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation was established to develop and manage industrial estates that would accommodate high-technology industries, first on reclaimed land in Tai Po and later in Yuen Long.

Manufacturing, once the most important sector of the Hong Kong economy, has been overshadowed by the vast service sector; manufacturing now constitutes only a tiny fraction of the gross domestic product and employs only a slightly higher proportion of the labour force. Textile and clothing production is the leading manufacturing activity and contributes about one-third of the value of domestic exports. The electronics industry is the second largest export earner. There are some heavy industries such as shipbuilding and repair and aircraft engineering. Steel rolling, production of machine parts and plastics, and cement manufacturing serve local needs.

Since 1969 Hong Kong has emerged as one of the major financial centres of the Asia-Pacific region, despite the fact that it is without the services of a central bank. The regional government delegates the functions of such an institution to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority—which oversees Hong Kong’s monetary policy and regulates its currency, the Hong Kong dollar—and to selected commercial banks. In addition to the licensed banks in the region, there are representative offices of foreign banks, including registered deposit-taking companies.

Domestic and international currencies are traded at the Hong Kong foreign-exchange market. The stock market attracts investment from both foreign and domestic sources. Some of its major shares are also traded on the London stock market. A gold bullion market, once the world’s largest, is operated by the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society. The lack of exchange controls has contributed to the success of Hong Kong as a financial centre.

Hong Kong’s free-trade policy has made the territory one of the world’s great centres of trade. There is no tariff on imports, except for some luxury items, such as perfumes, motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco. Hong Kong is dependent upon imported products, which make up about half of the total amount of external trade, the rest being divided between exports and reexports. Apart from trade with other regions of China, major suppliers include Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. Capital and consumer goods such as electrical machinery and apparatus, clothing, radios, television sets, stereos, and computers represent the largest group of imports. The second largest group includes mineral fuels, raw materials, semi-manufactured goods (such as synthetic and natural textiles, chemicals, and electronic components), and foodstuffs.

China became the main market for Hong Kong’s products prior to 1997, and this trade remained predominant after the territory’s reintegration. Other major export destinations include the United States and Japan. Textiles and clothing are the leading exports. Also important are electrical machinery and appliances, office machinery, photographic apparatus, and a variety of other manufactured items. Reexports constitute a major portion of the goods shipped out of Hong Kong.

Wholesale and retail trade also are major components of the service sector, as is tourism. The tourist trade, which is highly promoted by the government and well catered to by the huge service sector, now constitutes a significant component of the economy. The greatest number of tourist arrivals are from the mainland. In addition, a large number of business and tourist travelers from Taiwan pass through Hong Kong on their way to and from destinations on the mainland. Hong Kong Disneyland, a theme park based on the original Disneyland in California, opened in 2005 on Lantau Island and became a major amusement attraction.

With roadways limited relative to the population, the government has enforced strict limitations on automobile ownership and placed heavy emphasis on the development of public transportation. The rate of car ownership is low, although it is steadily rising. There has been much road and bridge construction in the territory. Notably, a bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai on the mainland opened in 2018 after nine years of work.

The majority of the populace makes daily trips by public transport. Apart from the bus, tram (streetcar), and ferry, the public is also served by a unique minibus service, a rapid transit system, and an electric railway. Buses are the largest road carrier, responsible for roughly one-third of the daily public-transport trips excluding those by taxi, followed by the combined minibus and maxicab (a regulated form of minibus) service. Commuter rail service also accounts for about one-third of overall ridership. The precipitous Victoria Peak area is served by one of the oldest transport companies, which operates a cable-car system between the peak and the Central District.

International traffic is served by Hong Kong’s international airport and its magnificent harbour, and there are good overland linkages with Guangdong province. The Hong Kong International Airport was located at Kai Tak, on the eastern fringe of Kowloon, until 1998, when it was relocated to a new, larger facility on Chek Lap Kok Island. Designed by British architect Norman Foster, the airport’s passenger terminal is among the world’s largest enclosed spaces, covering some 133 acres (54 hectares). The port of Hong Kong, based at one of the world’s finest natural harbours, is renowned for its efficiency and capacity. The capacity of its container terminals at Kwai Chung ranks Hong Kong among the world’s largest container ports. Speedy ferry service between Hong Kong and Macau and parts of Guangdong is provided by various craft, including hydrofoils and hovercraft.

Passenger and freight rail services are provided by the Kowloon-Canton Railway (in operation since 1910). Electrification and double-tracking of the railway and the growth along its lines of the new towns of Sha Tin, Tai Po, Fanling, and others caused a considerable increase in passenger traffic. The railway’s commuter services expanded considerably with its merger in 2007 with MTR Corporation, which had been established in 1975 to develop and operate Hong Kong’s mass-transit system. Hong Kong’s rail system is connected by a line running to nearby Shenzhen and, to the northwest, Guangzhou (Canton) in Guangdong province; the line carries millions of tons of freight annually, as well as passenger traffic between Hong Kong and Guangdong.

Hong Kong has one of the world’s most advanced and technologically sophisticated telecommunications systems, and it is one of the principal centres of the global telecommunications network. Hong Kong is a leader in integrating multiple-platform communication modes (e.g., land-line and mobile telephony) and implementing the most cutting-edge technology. Land-line telephones are nearly ubiquitous among Hong Kong households, and mobile-phone subscriptions exceed considerably the total number of inhabitants. Internet use is widespread, a large proportion of it using broadband.

When it was a colony, Hong Kong was administered by a governor, who was appointed by and represented the monarch of the United Kingdom, directed the government, served as the commander in chief, and presided over the two main organs of government, the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. With the resumption of Chinese sovereignty over the territory in July 1997, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (promulgated by the National People’s Congress of China in 1990) went into effect. The guiding principle of the Basic Law was the concept of “one country, two systems,” under which Hong Kong was allowed to maintain its capitalist economy and to retain a large degree of political autonomy (except in matters of foreign policy and defense) for a period of 50 years. A controversial security law passed by the mainland government and imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, however, had the ability to weaken the concept of “one country, two systems” and threatened the political autonomy that the region had enjoyed.