Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, on the coast east of the Pearl River estuary in the south of the country. Its name means fragrant harbor, after the incense wood once shipped from its shores.

Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain in 1842, and Kowloon and the New Territories were added in the following decades, the New Territories under a lease of 99 years. The harbor grew into a free port for trade between China and the rest of the world. In the second half of the 20th century, factories in Kowloon made toys, textiles and electronics, and later the city became a center of finance and shipping. Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997 under a framework known as one country, two systems.

CK Hutchison, founded by Li Ka-shing and based in the city, runs container ports, retail stores and telecoms in many countries. Vitasoy is a drinks company of Hong Kong that makes soy milk and lemon tea sold in small cartons. Lee Kum Kee keeps its head office in the city and makes oyster sauce. The container terminals of Kwai Tsing load ships for ports around the world.

Victoria Peak rises over the harbor, and the Peak Tram has carried people up its steep side since the late 19th century. The Star Ferry crosses Victoria Harbour between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island in green and white boats. The Tian Tan Buddha, a large bronze statue on Lantau Island, sits on a hilltop above a Buddhist monastery. M+, a museum of visual culture, opened in the early 2020s on the waterfront of West Kowloon. Jackie Chan, the actor and martial artist, was born in Hong Kong.