Hong Kong consists of a mainland portion located on the country’s southeastern coast and about 235 islands. It is bordered on the north by Guangdong Province and on the east, west and south by the South China Sea. Hong Kong was a British dependency from the 1840s until July 1, 1997, when it passed to Chinese sovereignty as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. When Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, it had existed as a British colony for 156 years - not a long history for what is today one of the world’s great cities. Stand amid the forest of skyscrapers in Central and try to imagine the ‘barren island with hardly a house upon it’ that British naval officers surveyed as they hoisted the Union Jack over the empire’s newest addition in 1841. It is difficult to picture, for in its headlong dash toward ever-greater prosperity, Hong Kong has worked hard to bury its humble origins. The total land area of Hong Kong is small, comprising only 422 square miles (1092 square kilometers); the surrounding territorial waters cover 707 square miles (1830 square kilometers). Hong Kong’s mainland portion consists of the urban area of Kowloon and a portion of the New Territories, a large area that became part of Hong Kong in 1898. Lantau Island (also called Tai Yue Island), ceded to Hong Kong as part of the New Territories but often considered separate from that region, is the largest island. Located about six miles (ten kilometers) east of Lantau Island and across Victoria Harbor from Kowloon is Hong Kong Island. The city of Hong Kong (also known as Victoria) faces the harbor on the northern part of the island.
Colors and ustoms in Hong Kong
There is more to a color than meets the eye, at least for the Chinese. White is the color of death and mourners at traditional Chinese funerals will often wear white cloaks, sometimes with a black ribbon. Black on white is traditionally associated with funerals, and if you ever see a large circular flower arrangement in black and white, it denotes someone’s passing. It used to be that sending a white sheet of paper with black writing on it was a bad omen. Red is a far happier color, symbolizing prosperity. In traditional Chinese weddings the bride would wear red; today the red gown is usually only reserved for the wedding reception. Restaurants, temples and other places where people congregate are often decked out in red. However, it is not considered good form to write notes, letters or sign one’s name in red ink. Hong Kong residents do not seem too clear on why this is, but Taiwanese say that it implies the writer lacks intelligence. Yellow, which was always the color of the emperor, is believed to repel evil spirits, which is why temple fortune papers are printed on yellow paper. Black also stands for treachery, but this idea wilted under the forces of fashion - black clothing was all the rage among stylish young women during the 1990’s.
Say it in Cantonese
Hello Nei hou
Goodbye Joi gin
Please Ng goi
Thank You Doh je
Yes Hei
No Ng Hei
Cheers Yem xing
How much? Gei doh chiu?
Where’s the toilet? Chi soh hei
Early History of Hong Kong
Hong Kong has supported human life since at least the Stone Age. Until the British claimed it, the area was a neglected corner of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) inhabited by farmers, fishermen and pirates. The British took control of Hong Kong in 1841 following the Opium Wars. European trade with China had been taking place since the 16th century, but as European demand for tea and silk grew, the balance of trade became more unfavorable to Europeans, who were expected to pay in silver. In 1773, the British unloaded 155,000 pounds (70,000 kilograms) of Bengal opium, and the Chinese taste for the ‘foreign mud’ grew exponentially. Alarmed at the drain of silver from the country and the increasing number of addicts, the emperor banned the drug trade; however the Europeans and corrupt Chinese officials kept the trade in opium going until 1839. The British sent an expeditionary force to secure favorable trade arrangements and obtain the use of islands as a British base. The British pressured the Chinese into ceding the island of Hong Kong to them in perpetuity. Both sides repudiated the agreement, but Commodore Gordon Bremmer led a contingent of naval men ashore on January 26, 1841, and claimed the island for Britain. A series of conflicts followed, with the British backed by French, Russian and American interests, and a combined British and French force invaded China in 1859, forcing an agreement to the Convention of Peking, which ceded the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island to the British. In 1898, the British also gained a 99-year lease on the New Territories, which they felt essential to protect their interests on Hong Kong Island.
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