Geographical Info
Multiply the size of Washington, DC by itself six times, and you get the size of Hong Kong. This pearl of the orient is found in Eastern Asia bordering the South China Sea and Mainland China. It’s 1,104 square kilometers of combined land and water area cover the regions of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories and 262 outlying islands. A famous deep-water harbour named Victoria Harbour runs between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Situated on the northern part of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories make up the Peninsula, and are attached to the mainland of China. The New Territories is a cluster of 262 outlying islands with Lantau as the biggest.
Much of Hong Kong’s terrain is hilly to mountainous and less than 25% of its landmass is developed. Although Hong Kong’s reputation is of being highly urbanized, about 40% of the remaining land area is reserved as country parks. The lowest point in Hong Kong is South China Sea having an elevation of 0m while the highest point is Tai Mo Shan having an elevation of 958m.
The "can-do" spirit of Hong Kong people allows tourists and travelers to enjoy their stay in the territory. Did you know that there are slightly over 7 million people in Hong Kong as of 2010? 95% of these are of Chinese descent. The remaining 5% is composed of non-ethnic Chinese including large groups of foreign contingents most coming from Indonesia (156,319), the Philippines (144,463) and Thailand (28,067).
| Local Tip: Since Hong Kong’s terrain is relatively hilly, wear comfortable footwear when travelling around the city. Hiking shoes or sandals are best for you. |
