Hong Kong: a Place Where East Meets West

Hong Kong is the administrative region of China, alongside Macau. A miraculous harbor, one of the most densely inhabited areas in the world, a population of more than 7 million people, and one of the world’s miraculous economies – it all makes the international community respect Hong Kong and strive for a visit. Hong Kong is one of the world's leading financial centers characterized by capitalist economy, free trade and low taxes. Lack of territory caused the necessity for extremely dense constructions making the centre of the city widely known for its architecture, and Hong Kong itself "the world's most vertical city". Hong Kong Island is the place that many tourists consider the main attraction. The parade of buildings together with the waters of Victoria Harbor makes it especially picturesque, often known as Central. This territory is home to many governmental institutions. The Peak is the tallest point of the island where tourists get wonderful views of the harbor. The southern part of the island has become a residential area with expensive apartments and the view on the South China Sea. All major attractions of the city can be reached from over 60 Hong Kong hotels. Kowloon Peninsula to the north of Hong Kong Island has a combination of luxurious hotels, shops and markets in the area of a square kilometer. The New Territories have a diverse landscape where one will undoubtedly find something that will amaze and be worth of a camera shot. The Outlying Islands host some of the territory's most popular beaches visited by windsurfers and those eager to see the local Disneyland and the cable car. The human being was present in the territory around present-day Hong Kong about 39000 years ago. In the 3rd century this region was incorporated into imperial China and flourished as a trading center and a military settlement built to protect the coastal area. Hong Kong is a popular venue for European tourists, but the first ever recorded European who was lucky to visit Hong Kong was a Portuguese explorer Jorge Alvares. Since the 16th century, Hong Kong became widely known in the Old World. The territory has little land available for agriculture and poor natural resources. Instead, Hong Kong is the eleventh largest trading center in the world. Since the 1950-s the living standards of the inhabitants of Hong Kong grew steadily assisted by rapid industrial development. Hong Kong's official language is Cantonese, a variation of the Chinese language. English is spoken by 34.9 percent of the population as a second language. Hong Kong is a renowned centre of martial arts film genre which has gained high popularity since the late 1960s due to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, and Jet Li. It has been calculated that there are more than 7000 skyscrapers in Hong Kong. Thirty-six of the world's 100 tallest apartment buildings are in Hong Kong. The International Commerce Center, for instance, is 484 m high. Other recognizable skyscrapers are the HSBC Headquarters Building, the Central Plaza with its spire in the form of a pyramid, The Center with multi-colored neon light show demonstrated at night. The traveler tired of Hong Kong’s crowded streets often describes it as Hong Kongcrete. However, the area, with its mountains and rocky islands is mostly a rural landscape. Much of the landscape is named Country Park. While being part of China, Hong Kong is disintegrated from the mainland. The name "Hong Kong" is a phonetic representation of Cantonese words meaning "fragrant harbor". Hong Kong was a colony of the British Empire, was occupied by Japan and fell under Chinese control. However, it preserved its true identity and is frequently described as the place where "East meets West". Source: Hong Kong Hotel Directory