UN News Centre Official site for daily UN news, press releases, statements, briefings and calendar of events. Includes UN radio, video, webcasts, magazines. The historic centre of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With wonderful palaces, millenniumold churches, grand romantic ruins, opulent monuments, ornate. Continentals corporate website is the hub for all information around press, career, investor relations, sustainability, innovation and basic company topics. Earn free travel rewards instantly with Orbitz Rewards Save an extra 10 or more on select hotels with Insider Prices Book your trip ultrafast with our free mobile. Hong Kong Wikitravel. Hong Kong. Location. Flag. Quick Facts. Capital. Victoria CentralGovernment Parliamentary System. Currency Hong Kong dollar, HKD. Area 1,0. 92kmwater 5. Population 7,0. 71,5. Jul 2. 01. 1. Language. BibMe Free Bibliography Citation Maker MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard. Viewers of BBCs News at Ten were entranced last night when a glitch in its system produced over four minutes of surreal beauty. As the program began, the usual. IFly. com Airport Info, Flight Status Tracking, Airport Parking, Terminal Maps, Groundtransportation, Flights, Hotels, and more Info. Amazons Prime Day is Tuesday, July 11th, with deals kicking off at 9pm ET tomorrow, July 10th. If youve never participated in the day before, it can be a bit. The latest travel information, deals, guides and reviews from USA TODAY Travel. Official Southwest Airlines website, the only place to find Southwest Airlines fares online. Book lowest airfare deals, view flight schedules, get flight status, and. Cantonese, English. Religion mix of local religions Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism 8. Christian. Electricity 2. V, 5. 0Hz UK plug. Country code 8. 52. Internet TLD. hk. Time Zone UTC 8. Emergencies dial 9. Hong Kong Heng Gng in Cantonese, meaning Fragrant Harbor is a Special Administrative Region SAR of the Peoples Republic of China. It is a place with multiple personalities as a result of being both Cantonese Chinese and having been under British colonization. Today, the former British colony is a major tourism destination for Chinas increasingly affluent mainland population. It is an important hub in East Asia with global connections to many of the worlds cities. It is a unique destination that has absorbed people and cultural influences from places as diverse as Vietnam and Vancouver and proudly proclaims itself to be Asias World City. UnderstandeditHong Kong is one of the two Special Administrative Regions SAR of China the other being Macau. Before the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1. Hong Kong had been a British colony for nearly 1. As a result, most infrastructure inherits the design and standards of Britain. During the 1. 95. Four Asian Tigers through the development of a strong manufacturing base and later a financial sector. Hong Kong is now famous for being a leading financial center in East Asia, with the presence of local and some of the most recognized banks from around the world. Hong Kong is also famous for its transition port, transporting a significant volume of exports from China to the rest of the world. With its political and legal independence, Hong Kong is known as the Oriental Pearl with a twist of British influence in the culture. Hong Kong is much more than a harbor city. The traveler weary of its crowded streets may be tempted to describe it as Hong Kongcrete. Yet, this territory with its cloudy mountains and rocky islands is mostly a rural landscape. Much of the countryside is classified as Country Park and, although 7 million people are never far away, it is possible to find pockets of wilderness that will reward the more intrepid tourist. HistoryeditArchaeological findings date the first human settlements in the area back to more than 3. It was first incorporated into China during the Qin Dynasty and largely remained under Chinese rule until 1. Qing Dynasty, with a brief interruption at the end of the Qin Dynasty, when a Qin official established the kingdom of Nam Yuet, which later fell to the Han Dynasty. In January 1. 84. Qing Dynasty of China in the First Opium War, the Chinese government were forced into ceding Hong Kong Island in perpetuity to the British Crown under the Convention of Chuanpee, beginning the British administration of Hong Kong. The agreement was later rectified in August 1. Treaty of Nanking, after which the Crown Colony of Hong Kong was established with Victoria City present day Central as the capital. After the defeat of China in the Second Opium War, the Kowloon Peninsula was occupied by Britain in 1. Convention of Peking, adding to the Crown Colony. A 9. 9 year lease of additional land on the mainland the New Territories and surrounding islands for defense and further development was granted in 1. When World War II broke out, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared that Hong Kong was an impregnable fortress. However, it was only a reality check for the British as most of their troops were tied down fighting the Germans in Europe, and Hong Kong was not given enough resources for its defence. As a result, after just slightly more than two weeks of fighting, Hong Kong was surrendered to the Japanese on 2. December 1. 94. 1, making it the first time the British lost a colony to an invading force. After the war, despite American assurances that Hong Kong would be restored to China, the British moved quickly to regain control of Hong Kong. However, they had lost their aura of invincibility and could not continue to rule Hong Kong the way they used to before the war and all racist restrictions on non Europeans owning property on prime real estate land were lifted. Hong Kongs post war recovery was astonishingly swift and within 2 3 months all post war economic restrictions were lifted and Hong Kong became a free market once again. After the communists took control of mainland China in 1. Chinese people, especially businessmen, fled to Hong Kong due to persecution by the communist government. Unlike the restrictive policies imposed by the communists in China, the British government took a rather hands off approach in Hong Kong, as proposed by former financial secretary John James Cowperthwaite, which led to a high degree of economic freedom. Under such conditions, businesses flourished in Hong Kong and its economy grew rapidly, earning it a place as one of the East Asian Tigers. Street Fighter 4 Sounds. In 1. 99. 0, Hong Kongs GDP per capita surpassed that of Britain, the first time a colonys GDP per capita surpassed that of its colonial masters. Hong Kong is now the worlds fourth largest financial centre after London, New York and Tokyo. The first Boundary Stone along the Anglo Chinese Boundary at Chung Ying Street. The massive influx of mainland Chinese refugees led to the rise of the Kowloon Walled City, which was a convolution of maze like alleys, utter darkness, cramped space, and unsanitary conditions. Reports claim that dog meat was served something which is quite common in Mainland China, but considered intolerable by the British and that unlicensed physicians practised there. The Walled City was evacuated and subsequently demolished in 1. Kowloon Walled City Park was built on the site. After negotiations between China and Britain in 1. New Territories and outlying islands were to be given back to China in 1. As Hong Kong developed, these regions became heavily integrated with the permanent cession. As a result, by the time the lease was approaching expiration, it was considered highly impractical to separate the colony into two. Initial British proposals for joint administration of the entire colony were rejected by China and the international community, and in 1. Sino British Joint Declaration created a one country, two systems policy on the Question of Hong Kong, giving Hong Kong back to China on 1 July 1. Hong Kong thus became a SAR of the Peoples Republic of China. Under the principle One Country, Two Systems, Hong Kong is to be granted a high degree of autonomy for at least 5. China, and not being affected by various restrictions that apply in mainland China such as news censorship and foreign exchange controls. In accordance with the Joint Declaration, the Basic Law was enacted to serve in effect as a mini constitution for the Hong Kong SAR. In theory, Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy in most matters except foreign affairs and defence. In practice, it is more complex than that. On the one hand, Beijing exerts much influence, on the other, there are increasing calls pushing for a more democratic regime and universal suffrage.