Hong Kong is a one of Asia’s most vibrant cities. Its a city
with a rich history thanks to a mixture of western and Asian
influences.
The name Hong Kong is often used to refer to the
main island of Hong Kong that houses the main CBD, in fact Hong
Kong also refers to the 236 surrounding islands, the Kowloon
peninsular and an area known as the New Territories behind
Kowloon.
The largely uninhabited Hong Kong Island was occupied
by the British in 1841 and was quickly established as a trading
port. A small area of mainland China, behind the Kowloon
peninsular, was leased from China in 1897 for 99 years, and was
named the New Territories. Hong Kong’s popularity as a trading
centre evolved form it central location to the rest of Asia and
this has made Hong Kong one of the most densely populated cities
on earth.
The whole of Hong Kong was handed back to China, by the
British, when the lease of the New Territories ran out in 1997,
despite now being part of China, Hong Kong remains a democratic
state for at least the next 50 years and today there has been
little change despite the fears or some locals prior to the
handover.
