Hong Kong is officially known as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and can be found in the Pearl River Delta of the Eat Asian region. It was formerly under British protection and was handed over to China after decades of foreign rule.
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It is considered as one of the important financial and industrial hubs in the region – sparking its continuous development. It is one of the richest cities in the world and its currency is one of the most traded commodities in the foreign exchange market. There are also many Filipinos who go to Hong Kong as tourists and as workers.
Tips and Things to Know about Hong Kong
Try to discover the secrets of Hong Kong as we bring to you various facts about the country, its culture, its sights and its people.
- The name Hong Kong comes from the Cantonese term which means Fragrant Harbor. If you are an investor or a corporate man, then you would indeed find the territory as fragrant as you can.
- Only about 25% of Hong Kong’s territory is urbanized sprawl – with skyscrapers and fashionable boutiques and restaurants aplenty.
- Believe it or not, 40% of Hong Kong’s territory is reserved for parks!
- The remaining 35% of the current Hong Kong territory is covered by virgin forests! How’s that for creating balance!
- While Hong Kong still enjoys its independence of sorts – it can and probably will be absorbed by mainland China in 2047.
- Hong Kong can be dubbed the Skyscraper Capital of the world because it has double the skyscrapers of New York and has thousands of buildings which are 14-storeys and above!
- The cost of real estate is pretty steep in Hong Kong and space is pretty in demand that high-end boutiques pay an outrageous cost of HKD 2630 per square foot per year!
- The territory boasts of at least 64 residents whose individual net worth exceeds a billion dollars!
- An artificial intelligence system manages the entire railway system of Hong Kong. This setup ensures that all trains arrive at their designated stations on time. In fact, the system has an impeccable 99.9% on-time rate.
- More than 230,000 people use the efficient double-decker trams that ply the Hong Kong routes to convey them to their destinations!
- The region also boasts of the largest fleet of ferries that ply its routes – as it transports goods and people to and from Hong Kong to other Chinese ports and destinations.
- A far cry from other countries current internet offerings – Hong Kong residents a gigabit connection – for a measly $26 service charge per month!
- The current governance system of the territory ensures that each child in the school system enjoys up to 12 years of free education!
- The territory has 17 recognized celebrations and festivals that is commemorated annually!
- Since fresh water can be a valuable commodity – and pretty difficult to source – the territory uses sea water to flush its toilets – quite an innovation, if you ask us!
- Nosing out the fabled San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge by 100m, Hong Kong’s Tsing Ma Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world. Its main span measures 1,377 meters and services both rail and road traffic in the island.
- It is quite expensive to be a taxi driver in the region – it costs an outstanding sum of HKD 7.66 million to grab a license to operate a taxi!
- Alcoholics would find Hong Kong’s freewheeling ways a bon – there’s no age restrictions in buying alcohol products and they even sell liquor to minors!
- However, smoking visitors who enter the territory would find it outrageous that they would only be limited to 19 sticks of cigarette to bring into the region – yes, you read it right – 19 individual sticks – not packs!
- Dimsum, one of the popular snacks enjoyed by people all over the world, originated from this region.
- For birthday celebrators, a staple would be noodles because they believe that slurping noodles on your day of birth would help you enjoy a longer lease in life.
- McDonald’s in Hong Kong is a popular venue for weddings! For the sum of USD 2,000 – you would get all the trappings of a great wedding – a wedding dress, a balloon ring setup, the venue and food supplied by the Golden Arches.
- Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee call Hong Kong their home. In fact, Lee even won the 1958 Hong Kong Cha Cha Championships!
- Lantau Island is home to one of the world’s largest bronze Buddha statues and attracts millions of visitors per year.
- Most buildings do not recognize fourth floors because many believe it is bad luck – so do not worry if you see no fourth floor designations but have 13th floor designations in the buildings you are visiting!
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There are certainly more interesting facts and figures that you can uncover about Hong Kong when you get to visit its nooks and crannies. The city is ever-growing and expanding that it is quickly becoming a popular (but pretty expensive) destination for regional and international tourists. The promises of business and pleasure seem to be coalescing properly into the region.