Hong Kong - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China), the other being ► Macau. The territory, comprising over 260 islands, is situated on the eastern banks of the Pearl River Delta on the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, facing the South China Sea in the south and bordering Guangdong Province in the north.
Short name
Hong Kong
Official name
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Status
Special administrative region of ► China since 1997
Capital
Victoria
Population
7,336,585 inhabitants
Area
1,104 km²
Major languages
Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and English
Major religions
Chinese folk religion (combination of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism)
This section holds a short summary of the history of the area of present-day Hong Kong, illustrated with maps, including historical maps of former countries and empires that included present-day Hong Kong.
In 1841 the United Kingdom occupies Hong Kong Island and a year later China cedes Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom, that establishes in 1843 the crown colony of Hong Kong. In 1860 China cedes the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island to Hong Kong and in 1898 the United Kingdom leases the New Territories from China for 99 years. Between 1941 and 1945 Japan occupies the colony. In 1997 the whole colony is returned to China as a special administrative region.
Old maps
This section holds copies of original general maps more than 70 years old.
Hong Kong and surroundings in 1888 (Meyers Konservationslexikon)
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The status of various entities is disputed. See the content for the entities concerned.
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↑Romanization according to the Hanyu Pinyin standard: Xiānggǎng - Zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó xiānggǎng tèbié xíngzhèngqū.
