Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially known as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea.[10] Hong Kong is known for its skyline and deep natural harbour.[11] It has an area of 1104 km2 (426 sq mi) and shares its northern border with the Guangdong Province of Mainland China. Home to around 7.2 million Hongkongers of various nationalities[note 1], Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated regions.
After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. After it was occupied by Japan in the Second World War (1941–45), the British resumed control until 30 June 1997. As a result of negotiations between China and Britain, Hong Kong was transferred to the People's Republic of China under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. The territory became China's special administrative region with a high degree of autonomy[12] on 1 July 1997 under the principle of one country, two systems.[13][14]
In the late 1970s, Hong Kong became a major entrepôt in Asia-Pacific. The territory has developed into a major global trade hub and financial centre, and is regarded as a world city.[15] The 45th-largest economy in the world,[16] Hong Kong ranks top ten in GDP (PPP) per capita. Hong Kong is one of the three most important financial centres alongside New York and London.[17] The territory has a high Human Development Indexand is ranked highly in the Global Competitiveness Report.[18] It has been named the freest market economy by the Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom.[19] The service economy, characterised by low taxation and free trade, has been regarded as one of the world's mostlaissez-faire economic policies, and the currency, the Hong Kong dollar, is the 13th most traded currency in the world.[20] The territory has the most severe income inequality among advanced economies.[6] Hong Kong is a member of APEC, ADB, IMF, BIS, WTO, FIFA, and International Olympic Committee, as Hong Kong Basic Law authorizes the territory to develop relations with foreign states on its own in appropriate fields, including the economic, trade, financial and monetary, shipping, communications, tourism, cultural and sports fields.[21]
Limited land created a dense infrastructure and the territory became a centre of modern architecture, and one of the world's most vertical cities.[22][23] Hong Kong has a highly developed public transportationnetwork covering 90 per cent of the population, the highest in the world, and relies on mass transit by road or rail.[24][25] Air pollution remains a serious problem.[26][27] Loose emissions standards have resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates.[28] Nevertheless, Hongkongers enjoy the world's longest or second longest life expectancies.
The name "Hong Kong" is an approximate phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the spokenCantonese or Hakka name 香港, meaning "Fragrant Harbour".[31] Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (香港仔hoeng1gong2 zai2, orHiong1gong3zai3[9] in Hong Kong Hakka, literally means "Little Hong Kong")—between Aberdeen Island and the south side of Hong Kong Island, which was one of the first points of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.[32]
The reference to fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense from factories, lining the coast to the north of Kowloon, which was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before the development of the Victoria Harbour.[31]
In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed and the name, Hong Kong, was first recorded on official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.[33]
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until thegovernment adopted the current form in 1926.[34] Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
The full official name, after 1997, is "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website;[35] however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames: the most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive night-view of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
History[edit]Main articles: History of Hong Kong and History of ChinaPre-British Hong Kong[edit]Main articles: Prehistoric Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
Ancient China[edit]
Imperial China[edit]
British Crown Colony: 1842-1941[edit]
Main articles: British Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
Ancient China[edit]
Imperial China[edit]
British Crown Colony: 1842-1941[edit]
Main articles: British Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.[36][37][38]
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the PaleolithicPeriod. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue (Viets) to Hong Kong.[39][40] Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang dynasty in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.[41]
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the territory into imperial China for the first time. Modern Hong Kong was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu.[42][43][44] In Qin dynasty, the territory was ruled by Panyu County(番禺縣) up till Jin Dynasty.
The area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the kingdom of Nanyue (Southern Viet), founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC after the collapse of the short-lived Qin dynasty.[45] When the kingdom of Nanyue was conquered by the Han Dynasty in 111 BC, Hong Kong was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery. Archaeological evidence indicates that the population increased and early salt production flourished in this time period. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built during the Han dynasty.[46]
Started from Jin dynasty to early period of Tang dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed byBao'an County (寶安縣). In Tang dynasty, the Guangdong region flourished as an international trading center. The Tuen Mun region in what is now Hong Kong's New Territories served as a port, naval base, salt production centre and later, base for the exploitation of pearls. Lantau Island was also a salt production centre, where the salt smugglers riots broke out against the government.
Under the Tang dynasty, the Guangdong (Canton) region flourished as a regional trading centre. In 736 AD, the first Emperor of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun in western Hong Kong to defend the coastal area of the region.[47] The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in the modern-day New Territoriesunder the Northern Song dynasty.[48] After their defeat by the Mongols, the Southern Song court briefly moved to modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site), before its final defeat at the Battle of Yamen.[49]
From the middle age of Tang dynasty to early Ming dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed byDongguan County (東莞縣/ 東官縣). In Ming dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Xin'an County (新安縣) up till the territory was colonized by the British government . Before the British government colonized New Territories and New Kowloon in 1898, Punti people, Hakka people, some Tanka people (蜑家人/ 水上人) and some Hokkien people (閩南人/ 學佬人/ 鶴佬人/ 福佬人) had migrated and stayed in nowadays' Hong Kong for many years. They are theIndigenous inhabitants in Hong Kong, still in now.
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513.[50][51] Having founded an establishment in Macau by 1557, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. However, subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from the rest of China.
In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order (closed-door, isolation policy) was enforced and it strictly forbade all maritime activities in order to prevent contact from foreigners by sea.[49] From 1661 to 1669, Hong Kong was directly affected by theGreat Clearance of the Kangxi Emperor, who required the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong. About 16,000 people from Hong Kong and Bao'an County were forced to emigrate inland; only 1,648 of those who evacuated were said to have returned after the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.[52][53]
In 1839, the refusal of Qing authorities to support opium imports caused the outbreak of the First Opium War between the British Empire and the Qing Empire. Qing's defeat resulted in the occupation of Hong Kong Island by British forces on 20 January 1841. It was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpee, as part of a ceasefire agreement between CaptainCharles Elliot and Governor Qishan. While a dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries led to the failure of the treaty's ratification, on 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking.[54] The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.[55]
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.[56][57]
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) andStonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of the Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up toShenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.[58][59][60]
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe alike. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas, such as the Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. There were, however, a small number of Chinese elites whom the British governors relied on, such as Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as communicators and mediators between the government and local population.
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's oldest higher education institute. While there was an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained peaceful. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.[61]
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under his tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Hong Kong and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.