Places to Visit in Hong Kong, China, Asia
Hong Kong is sited on the Asian continent at the south coast of the country, China. This place is one of the special administrative regions of the country. Hong Kong is also known as the place where ‘East meets West’. This place is one of the leading International financial centers on the planet. The geographical coordinates puts the place at 22016’42” N and 114009’32” E and spans over an area of 1,104 km2. During summer season the average temperature is 390C and in winter temperature drops to -130C.
History of Hong Kong:
In the year 1841 on January 20th, British forces captured the Island Hong Kong which was under the rule of Qing dynasty. An agreement was made between the Chinese ruler and the British Governor. Under the British rule the place Hong Kong prospered.
In 1898, the British obtained a lease for a period of 99 years for the adjacent land and island. Since then the boundaries of Hong Kong remain the same till today. During the invasion of the Japanese in the year 1941, the British lost Hong Kong to the Japanese. Hong Kong was under the control of the Japanese till 1945. Later Britain took control of Hong Kong.
The handing over of Hong Kong to the Chinese Republic took place on 1st July 1997. This day saw the end of 156 years rule of the British over Hong Kong.
People & Culture of Hong Kong:
English is widely spoken among the people of Hong Kong. Cantonese Chinese is the official language of Hong Kong. However, after handing over the Hong Kong to the Chinese the region has seen influx of the Mandarin language in the city. Main religions in Hong Kong are Buddhism Taoism and Confucianism.
Food and Shopping in Hong Kong:
The Cantonese cuisine has a great influence on the food of the locals in Hong Kong. Cuisine plays major role in lives of the people in Hong Kong with wide varieties of regional cuisines with Asian and western choices. Some of the famous cuisines of Hong Kong are Dim sum, Siu Mei, Congee, Noodles and Tong Sui.
There are plenty of shopping malls in Hong Kong. The names of few of these malls are provided below:
- Allied Plaza, Prince Edward
- K11, Tsim Sha Tsui
- Tseung Kwan O
- Amoy Plaza, Amoy Gardens, Kowloon Bay
- Kowloon City Plaza, Kowloon City
- Prince’s Building, Central
- Kwai Chung Plaza, Kwai Chung
- Skylin Plaza, Tsuen Wan
- Cheung Sha Wan Plaza, Cheung Sha Wan
- Chater House, Central
- Citygate Outlets, Tung Chung
Tourist Places in Hong Kong:
- Hong Kong Skyline
- Dialogue in the Dark Hong Kong
- Nan Lian Garden
- Hong Kong Museum of History
- Dragon’s Back
- Victoria Harbour
- Chin Lin Nunnery
- Hong Kong Sevens
- Lantau Island
- Happy Valley Race Course
- Hong Kong Tramways
Means of Commutation to Hong Kong:
Airport:
Hong Kong International Airport connects Hong Kong to the rest of the world, which is located at the distance of 30 kms from city centre in Lantau Island.
Railways:
Hong Kong has world’s largest railway network which is operated by KCRC. Hong Kong is well connected via rail to places within the country.
There are metros and trams commuting passengers through the entire Hong Kong.
Roadways:
Road networks are well organized with wide number of flyovers, underpasses, bypasses, highways and expressways and Bus and taxis to form part of the inter city transportation.
Seaways:
Hong Kong has a ferry service to the nearest province of China, Guangzhou.
Payment towards the use of public transport is done through Octopus Card which stores the information.
Accommodation Options at Hong Kong:
Hong Kong is the busiest city in the world with huge infrastructure facilities is visited by millions of tourists and businessmen throughout the year. Hong Kong has some of the world’s premium hotels offering luxurious accommodation amenities to the travelers. The hotels have services like airport shuttle, sauna, saloon, spa, swimming pool with temperature controller, 24 hrs help desk, special diet on requests etc, which price from $ 20 to $ 600 and above per day. List of hotels located in Hong Kong are:
- The Upper House
- The T Hotel
- Hotel ICON
- Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
- Mandarin Oriental
- Langham Place Hong Kong
- Island Shangri-La Hotel
- The Langham Hongkong
- The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong
- Inter Continental Hong Kong