Fan Sail Junks, 100 Storey glass towers, and a forest of neon! This is Hong Kong, city of life. There is more happening in 100 square meters in downtown Hong Kong than anywhere else in the world. Spend 5 hours or 5 days, spend the time to scratch beneath the surface and you will find more than just a bustling city.
Hong Kong, the fragrant harbour, has a simple but sordid history, where tales of pirate merchants and British Imperialism meet. Not much more than a simple fishing and trading outpost for the Chinese, this rocky outcrop was put on the map ‘so to speak’ when it came under the gaze of English traders looking for an outpost with deep water and shelter from the regions legendary typhoons.
The shady past all started with the Qing Dynasty destroying imported opium, this was seen as an aggression towards British interests and resulted in the First Opium War Hong Kong Island became occupied by British forces, and was formally ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking. The British established a Crown Colony with the founding of Victoria City a year after the war ended. After China's defeat in the Second Opium War, Kowloon Peninsula south of Boundary Street and Stonecutter's Island were ceded to Britain. In 1898 Britain obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island and the adjacent northern lands, which became known as the New Territories.
Japan invaded Hong Kong in 1941, ending with British and Canadian defenders surrendering control of the colony to Japan. Hong Kong lost more than half of its population in the period between the invasion and Japan's surrender in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony. Hong Kong's population recovered quickly as a wave of mainland migrants arrived for refuge from the Chinese Civil War and then with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Many corporations in Shanghai and Guangzhou also shifted their operations to Hong Kong.
Renowned for its expansive skyline and natural setting, Hong Kong is one of the world's leading financial capitals, a major business and cultural hub. Its identity as a cosmopolitan centre where east meets west is reflected in its cuisine, cinema, music and traditions, and although the population is predominantly Chinese, residents and expatriates of other ethnicities form a small but significant segment of society.
In 1984 an agreement was reached to transfer Hong Kong sovereignty back to the People's Republic of China in 1997. The agreement stipulated that Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for at least fifty years after the transfer. |
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