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On August 15, 2024, Ocean Park announced the birth of a female and a male giant panda cub, the first panda cubs born in Hong Kong. They weighed 122 grams (4.2 ounces) and 112 grams (4 ounces), respectively. The cubs received intensive care from the park’s veterinarians to ensure their well-being. The announcement came after years of failed attempts and miscarriages, making the unexpected news all the more remarkable, as Ying Ying’s pregnancy was confirmed on August 11—only fo

Walking down the streets of twenty-first-century Hong Kong, it is not unusual to come across female police officers patrolling the city. Yet, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, for the majority of Hong Kong’s history, law enforcement was a male-only occupation. When the Hong Kong Police Force was officially established on May 1, 1844, thirty-two men were tasked with enforcing the law in the booming town Hong Kong had become. As the decades passed, the city grew, and so d

In 1933, King Kong made a sensation as it climbed the iconic Empire State Building in New York City. Forty-three years later, its remake became highly profitable, earning triple its budget and opening at number one at the box office. Eager to capitalize on the success of this remake, Shaw Brothers Studio, the largest film production company in Hong Kong at the time, decided to produce The Mighty Peking Man in 1977, which was released under the title Goliathon in the United

On July 16, 1948, a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina seaplane named Miss Macao , owned by Macau Air Transport Company, a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, took off from Macau with 23 passengers and 3 crew members. Its destination: Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Miss Macao never landed at Kai Tak, Hong Kong’s international airport at the time. A fisherman later reported seeing an airplane diving nose-first into the sea. That plane was Miss Macao . The only survivor of the crash happened t

When it opened on June 28, 1869, the Old City Hall was the first multipurpose performance facility in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. Designed in a Renaissance style, the City Hall included a library, a theatre, a museum, and a lecture room. However, as the neighboring Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) gained influence, its Second Generation Building became somewhat cramped. Plans for their Third Generation Building required additional land, and the bank

On June 21, 1963, Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini was elected Bishop of Rome, thereby becoming the head of the Catholic Church, more commonly known as the Pope , under the name Paul VI. Seven years later, Pope Paul VI embarked on his longest—and last—international trip to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Among the cities he visited was the then British colony of Hong Kong. On December 4, 1970, Pope Paul VI landed at Kai Tak A

Hong Kong is one of the most densely urbanized regions in the world. Yet, the white-bellied sea eagle, a large raptor species notorious for being negatively affected by human disturbance, thrives in Hong Kong more than in any other region of the world.

In the late nineteenth century, Hong Kong experimented with several innovative means of transportation. In 1888, the Peak Tram, a cable funicular railway that still operates between Central and Victoria Gap, was completed. That same year, the Star Ferry began operations under the name Kowloon Ferry Company. Three years later, in 1891, a 2.3-kilometer (1.43-mile) long cable car was completed between Quarry Bay and the Taikoo Sanitarium, near Quarry Pass, about 300 meters (appr

Nearly every year, since 1932, Australia’s Wallabies and New Zealand’s All Blacks have competed against each other in a mini-competition that came to be known as the Bledisloe Cup. As of 2025, New Zealand has won the Bledisloe Cup a total of 47 times in 63 editions, while Australia has won 9 times. The remaining 7 confrontations ended in a draw. Although the format of the competition has varied over time, the games have always been played in either Australia or New Zealand. H

There was a time when Victoria Harbour was teeming with steamers, schooners, sampans, and junk boats. But that time belongs to a bygone era. In 21st-century Hong Kong, the only junk boats still roaming the waters of Victoria Harbour are modern crafts designed specifically for partying cruises or sightseeing cruises in the harbour. Of those few junk boats, however, one stands out: Duk Ling . Not only because of its three iconic red sails, but also because of its history. Altho

Peninsula Hotel, located on the southern tip of Tsim Sha Tsui, is one of the finest hotels in Kowloon. Opened on December 11, 1928, the hotel owes its name to the Peninsula of Kowloon where it is situated. Although not the first hotel in Hong Kong, as of 2026, the Peninsula, now renamed The Peninsula Hong Kong, is the oldest hotel still in operation in the city. A historical landmark in the truest sense of the term, the Peninsula witnessed a key and traumatic event in Hong Ko

In the thirteenth century, after the Mongols conquered northern China, which was then controlled by the Jin Dynasty, the Song Dynasty sought refuge in southern China. When 7-year-old Emperor Duanzong (宋端宗) died in 1278, his six-year-old brother, Zhao Bing (趙昺), was enthroned in Mui Wo (梅窩) on Lantau Island. He thus became the first, last, and only Chinese emperor to be enthroned on the territory of present-day Hong Kong. One day, when he saw the eight peaks forming the northe

Ocean Park is one of Hong Kong’s main tourist attractions. Opened on January 10, 1977, it became very popular in the territory; and, as of 2026, it remains the second-largest theme park in Hong Kong, behind Hong Kong Disneyland. However, Ocean Park stands out from other theme parks in that it is also an animal theme park, an oceanarium, an amusement park, and a marine mammal park. As such, Ocean Park is home to dolphins, seals, walruses, and sea lions. However, there was a ti

Skyscrapers are often defined as buildings standing 150 meters (492 feet) or taller. According to this definition, Hong Kong truly is the city of skyscrapers. As of 2026, the city is home to well over 550 buildings that exceed this height, with six buildings reaching over 300 meters (1,000 feet)—the threshold for super-tall buildings—and a seventh under construction in Mong Kok East. Moreover, according to Guinness World Records, as of March 2019, Hong Kong was home to approx

If you enjoyed the opening scene of the original Blade Runner, you might very well enjoy the night view from Garden Hill. The similarity is striking, yet in the case of Garden Hill, no CGI is required.

When Thomas Sutherland founded the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, later renamed the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), its first headquarters—known as Wardley House—was located directly on the shoreline of Victoria Harbour, at 1 Queen’s Road. Nowadays, however, HSBC Main Building—although still situated at 1 Queen’s Road Central—stands 560 metres (1,840 feet) from the closest shoreline of Victoria Harbour. The explanation for this peculiarity lies in the topograph

Hiking on one of the 579 mountains, you will soon realize that the forests of Hong Kong are teeming with life; ranging from the smallest of ants to wild boars and deer. Yet, somehow, regardless of this abundance of life, apex predatory mammals are nowhere to be seen on the territory of Hong Kong. As a matter of fact, beside the Burmese python and the snake-eating king cobra, there simply are no terrestrial apex predators in Hong Kong.

When she was launched in Clydebank, Scotland, on September 27, 1938, RMS Queen Elizabeth became the largest and longest passenger ship in the world, surpassing her French rival, SS Normandie , by only 2 feet and 269 gross registered tons. After an eventful career as an ocean liner—marked by a start as a troopship during World War II— RMS Queen Elizabeth was sold to various companies before being purchased by Hong Kong magnate Tung Chao Yung in 1970. He intended to convert h

In August 1982, a 6,700-square-meter (72,000-square-foot) plot of land located in Central, the financial heart of Hong Kong, was sold to the Hong Kong branch of the Bank of China. This plot of land would soon become the site of the Bank of China Tower, the city’s first super-tall building (i.e., a building exceeding 1,000 feet in height). However, prior to the construction of the Bank of China Tower, the plot was occupied by one of Hong Kong's oldest standing buildings, known

Hong Kong’s latest series of banknotes, the 2018 series, saw the issuance of no fewer than 15 new banknotes across five denominations. However, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the central banking institution of Hong Kong, only issues one type of banknote. This peculiarity stems from the fact that the Hong Kong government, through the Monetary Authority, has licensed three commercial banks to issue their own banknotes. Standard Chartered Bank has been issuing banknotes in Ho