50 Fun Facts About Hong Kong

Hong Kong's name is usually translated as what?

It may refer to the sweet freshwater of the Pearl River or to incense factories that once lined the Kowloon coast.

Which conflict led the Qing dynasty to cede Hong Kong Island to Britain in 1842?

The Treaty of Nanking formalised the cession; Kowloon followed in 1860 and the New Territories lease in 1898.

For how many years did Britain lease the New Territories in 1898?

The approaching expiry of that lease is what forced the handover negotiations of the 1980s.

On what date was Hong Kong handed over from the United Kingdom to China?

The ceremony took place at midnight after 156 years of British rule.

Which British royal read the farewell speech at the handover ceremony?

He was joined by the newly elected prime minister Tony Blair and the last governor, Chris Patten.

Who was the last Governor of Hong Kong?

Unusually he was a career politician rather than a diplomat, and his electoral reforms infuriated Beijing.

Who became Hong Kong's first Chief Executive in 1997?

He was a shipping magnate chosen by a 400-member Selection Committee.

What is the principle under which Hong Kong keeps a separate government and economy from the mainland?

The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration promised those systems would be guaranteed for 50 years after the handover.

Which 1984 agreement set the terms of the handover?

Governor Murray MacLehose had first raised the question of the lease with Deng Xiaoping in 1979.

Hong Kong's mini-constitution since 1997 is known as what?

Its Articles 45 and 68 set universal suffrage as an ultimate goal that has yet to be reached.

Japan attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941, the same morning as which other attack?

The occupation lasted almost four years until the British resumed control on 30 August 1945.

Hong Kong borders which mainland Chinese city to the north?

The Sham Chun River marks the boundary; Macau lies 60 km to the west across the Pearl River estuary.

What is Hong Kong's highest point?

It reaches 957 metres and recorded the territory's last reported snowfall in 1975.

Hong Kong is administratively split into how many districts?

Four are on Hong Kong Island, five in Kowloon and nine in the New Territories.

What share of Hong Kong's daily trips use public transport, the highest rate in the world?

The MTR alone carries almost five million people a day with a 99.9% on-time rate.

What is the name of Hong Kong's contactless smart payment system, launched in September 1997?

It was the world's second contactless fare card after Korea's Upass and inspired London's Oyster.

The line up to Victoria Peak, opened in 1888, was the first what in Asia?

It is owned by the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels group, which also owns the Peninsula Hotel.

Hong Kong Tramways holds a Guinness World Record for the largest fleet of what?

The 165-strong fleet, running since 1904, is nicknamed the 'ding ding' after its bell.

The Star Ferry's main route crosses Victoria Harbour between Central and which Kowloon district?

The company was founded in 1888 as the Kowloon Ferry Company and still carries over 70,000 passengers a day.

Hong Kong's old Kai Tak Airport closed in which year?

Its famous approach required a low 47-degree right turn over Kowloon after pilots spotted Checkerboard Hill.

Kai Tak pilots lined up their final turn after spotting a hill painted with what pattern?

Aircraft then dropped below 600 feet over Kowloon City's apartment blocks to reach the runway.

Hong Kong International Airport is built on which island?

Opened in 1998, it is the world's busiest cargo gateway.

Which airline is Hong Kong's flag carrier?

Skytrax rates it a 5-star airline and it has sat in the world top ten for years running.

The 1,377-metre road-and-rail suspension bridge to Hong Kong's airport is named after which two islands?

Its 1,377-metre main span is the longest in the world carrying rail traffic.

What is Hong Kong's tallest building?

At 484 m and 108 storeys it is the only building in the city with more than 100 floors.

Hong Kong has more of what than any other city in the world?

It counts 554 towers taller than 150 metres.

A Symphony of Lights over Victoria Harbour holds a Guinness record as the world's largest permanent what?

As of 2017 some 42 buildings took part.

Kowloon Walled City, demolished in 1993-94, was famous for being what?

By 1987 about 33,000 people lived in its 2.6 hectares, roughly 1.2 million per square kilometre.

Why did Kowloon Walled City end up ungoverned for decades?

Refugees from the Chinese Civil War swelled it into a labyrinth of unregulated high-rises built without engineers.

Victoria Peak rises to roughly what height?

It is the tallest hill on Hong Kong Island but only the 29th tallest in the territory.

Lion Rock sits between Kowloon Tong and which New Territories town?

Its granite is about 140 million years old, and its lion profile is clearest from East Kowloon.

The Big Buddha at Ngong Ping is on which island?

The bronze statue was completed in 1993 beside Po Lin Monastery.

Hong Kong Disneyland opened in which year?

It was Asia's second Disneyland after Tokyo, and the government owns 52% of it.

Which three commercial banks issue Hong Kong's banknotes?

The HK$10 note and all coins are issued by the government itself.

What is the predominant spoken language of Hong Kong?

About 93.7% of residents speak it, and English is the other official language.

Hong Kong-style milk tea is nicknamed after which item of clothing?

The tea is strained through a stocking-like cotton bag and mixed with evaporated milk.

What does 'cha chaan teng' literally mean?

These diners serve everything from baked pork chop rice to pastry chicken pies to bankers and builders alike.

The Hong Kong egg tart is derived from the English custard tart and which Portuguese pastry?

You will find them at dim sum restaurants, bakeries and cha chaan tengs.

Which two Bruce Lee films of 1972 and 1973 made Hong Kong productions popular abroad?

Enter the Dragon was released just days after Lee's death in Hong Kong.

Cantopop's popularity peaked in the 1990s under which quartet of singers?

Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai dominated Asian charts.

Which organisation is the territory's largest taxpayer and holds a monopoly on gambling?

Only lotteries, horse racing and football betting are legal in the territory.

Hong Kong's two horse racing tracks are at Sha Tin and where?

Nearly 700 races a season generate the largest horse race betting turnover in the world.

Which annual rugby tournament in the territory is the premier event on the World Rugby seven-a-side circuit?

The Rugby Football Union there dates back to 1953.

Dragon boat racing in Hong Kong began as a religious ceremony during which festival?

The first modern competition was held in 1976 to promote the city abroad.

Hong Kong's 2019 protests were sparked by a proposed bill allowing what?

Organisers claimed more than three million people took part, the largest protests in the city's history.

The 2014 protests over pre-screening of Chief Executive candidates became known as what?

Umbrellas, used against pepper spray, became the movement's symbol.

Hong Kong was the first of which group of economies to industrialise in the 1950s?

Between 1961 and 1997 its GDP grew by a factor of 180.

Hong Kong's very first public transport system, still running, is which one?

It has run between Central and Victoria Peak since 1888, sixteen years before the street trams.

Hong Kong holds which world record for its population?

Women born there in 2024 can expect to live 88.4 years, men 82.8.

Which explorer, in 1513, was the earliest known European visitor to Hong Kong?

Portuguese traders then set up a post called Tamão before being expelled in the 1520s.