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It is a well-known fact that Hong Kong became British as a direct result of the opium trade. After all, the wars that led to the cession of Hong Kong Island in 1841, and the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860, were named the First and Second Opium Wars, respectively, for a reason. As a matter of fact, just as the opium trade in the first half of the nineteenth century led to the cession of Hong Kong, that same opium trade in the second half of the nineteenth century is what turned Hon

At the end of 2023, Hong Kong had a population of 7,503,100 inhabitants, living on a total area of 2,755 square kilometers. This represents a population density of 2,723 inhabitants per square kilometer, or 6,733 inhabitants per square mile, if we take into account that 59.7% of Hong Kong’s territory is made up of water. However, even that figure of 6,733 inhabitants per square mile (17,439 inhabitants per square kilometer) is far from the reality faced by Hong Kong's populat

Cases of cities and regions founded during the colonial era and named after existing European cities and/or regions are numerous. New Zealand, for instance, refers to the Dutch province of Zeeland. Similarly, New Caledonia was named after Caledonia, the Latin name for Scotland; New Hampshire was named after the English county of Hampshire; and New South Wales was named after the British country of Wales. Consequently, it may seem logical that the area of Aberdeen, located on

As of the end of 2025, Hong Kong boasted a population of 7,510,800 inhabitants. To put that figure into an American context, the population of Hong Kong is most similar to that of the state of Arizona, which had a population of 7,600,000. However, the comparison ends here. Although the total populations of both territories are very similar, the living conditions are dramatically different. Arizona is a landlocked state, with its water area representing 0.3% of the total area.

The 1980s was an eventful decade in the banking industry of Hong Kong, marked by three banks with strong historic ties to Hong Kong undertaking symbolically significant moves. In the late 1970s, HSBC’s Third Generation headquarters was demolished to make way for HSBC’s latest and current headquarters. Though rather short in stature, the HSBC Main Building was a feat of engineering, packed with innovative ideas. Construction began in 1981 and took only four years; it was compl

When Commodore Bremer formally took possession of Hong Kong Island in 1842, the island was little more than a barren rock, albeit with small fishing villages scattered along its coastline. However, the British began developing Hong Kong Island into a trading post immediately, recognizing the island's ideal location at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, midway between India and Japan, and between China and Australia. In the early years of the colony, the administrators and,

Hong Kong may never have been home to the world’s tallest tower; but when it comes to buildings, Hong Kong is the land of records. Central District, in particular, seems to concentrate most of those records. On May 16, 2017, the Hong Kong government sold Inland Lot 9051, at 2 Murray Road. Ideally located, in front of Hong Kong’s most iconic landmark, the Bank of China Tower, and between Chater Garden and Lippo Centre, the plot was bound to attract investors. And it didn’t dis

Hong Kong became an essential trading port in the British Empire after their victory in the First Opium War. However, often overlooked is the impact Scottish businessmen have had on the history of Hong Kong. In fact, Hong Kong as we know it probably would not exist if it weren’t for two Scotsmen who made their fortunes in the opium trade: William Jardine and James Matheson. Together, they joined Magniac & Company, which they renamed Jardine, Matheson & Co., and heavily lobbie

Wandering around the area formerly known as the City of Victoria, now known as the Central and Western District, or in the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula, better known as the Yau Tsim Mong District, you’ll soon realize that many streets bear decidedly British-sounding names. From Queen’s Road, named after Queen Victoria and stretching between Kennedy Town and Wan Chai, to Nathan Road, stretching between Tsim Sha Tsui and Prince Edward, most of the men and women who hav

On January 26, 1841, Commodore Bremer officially took possession of Hong Kong Island on behalf of the British Empire. Since then, Hong Kong Island has always been the administrative and financial center of Hong Kong. However, contrary to what one might expect, Hong Kong Island is not Hong Kong’s largest island; that honor goes to Lantau Island, located 7.3 kilometers (4.55 miles) west of Hong Kong Island at its closest point. Unlike Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula,

Traveling from any Western city to Hong Kong may seem long. Flying from Los Angeles, USA, to Hong Kong, for instance, will take you fifteen hours; from London, UK, to Hong Kong, will take you the better part of thirteen hours; and from Sydney, Australia, to Hong Kong, nearly ten hours. Yet, the furthest city from Hong Kong is not to be found in the West but in South America—more specifically, in Bolivia. Located about 19,900 kilometers (12,350 miles) from Hong Kong, the city

In 1979, Sumitomo Heavy Industries completed the construction of a 418,611-ton ultra-large crude carrier at the shipyards in Oppama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. However, following a disagreement with its Greek owner, who refused to take delivery, the ship remained unnamed. Fortunately, the shipyard reached a deal with Tung Chao-yun, better known as C.Y. Tung, the founder of Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). The deal included the jumboisation of the ship t

Law Uk is a village built in Chai Wan, on the eastern end of Hong Kong Island, by the Hakka, a Han Chinese subgroup; and one of the four indigenous groups of people that inhabited Hong Kong before British colonization. It is estimated that Law Uk, named after the Law family who lived in the house, was built in the mid-eighteenth century, roughly ninety years before the British took possession of Hong Kong Island. Following World War II, large numbers of refugees from mainland

When the Kowloon-Canton Railway first began operation on October 1, 1910, steam was the only available railway technology. As such, all trains operating between Kowloon and Canton (present-day Guangzhou) were steam engines. However, during the Second World War, the railway in Hong Kong was heavily damaged, with entire sections missing; Japanese occupation forces raided workshops for equipment and neglected maintenance of the rolling stock. Moreover, the rolling stock had been

Between the exchange of ratification of the Treaty of Nanjing on June 26, 1843, by which Hong Kong officially became a Crown Colony, and the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China on July 1, 1997, a total of 28 British governors have ruled Hong Kong. Most of the governors of Hong Kong served between 3 and 7 years. However, two governors stand out due to their longevity at the helm of the colony. Sir Alexander Grantham, after whom the famous fir

When the Qing Dynasty ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to the British Empire as a result of the British victory in the Second Opium War in 1860, the harbor that would come to be known as Victoria Harbour was over 2 km (about 1.2 miles), wide between Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai. Yet, as a result of the successive reclamation projects undertaken on Hong Kong Island and in Tsim Sha Tsui, the width of Victoria Harbour steadily shrank. So much so that today, Victoria Harbour measures a

In March 1993, the demolition of an area the size of two football fields began in Hong Kong. What was initially a Chinese military outpost had turned into a Chinese enclave within British Kowloon when, in 1898, the Qing Dynasty leased the New Territories to the British Empire for 99 years. This historic peculiarity meant that, henceforth, neither Chinese forces nor British law enforcement could enter the area out of fear of initiating a diplomatic battle between the two empir

Looking at a picture of Hong Kong Island taken from Kowloon, across Victoria Harbour, one cannot miss the mountain range that stretches south of Hong Kong’s financial heart, Central, with Victoria Peak as a commanding presence. Although its height has been subdued over the decades by the hundreds of skyscrapers built at its feet, Victoria Peak, also known historically as Mount Austin, remains a prominent feature on Hong Kong Island. Paradoxically, even though it is the talles

Although Hong Kong was officially a British colony for 155 years, from August 29, 1842, to July 1, 1997, only one British monarch has visited Hong Kong as the reigning monarch. Of course, many princes and princesses have visited Hong Kong, and King George V, King Edward VIII, and King Charles III also visited Hong Kong; but they did so in their capacity as princes, not as the King of the United Kingdom. In fact, the only British monarch to have ever visited Hong Kong was al

Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest cities in the world. In 2025, the city was home to 154,500 high-net-worth individuals, meaning citizens with a net worth of $1,000,000 USD or more. In other words, about 2% of Hong Kong's population are millionaires. However, while the media often focus on the number of millionaires and billionaires in the territory, they frequently overlook the number of poor people in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, despite its high concentration of wealthy resi