HONG KONG

 II. Development of Hong Kong.
   1.  Night View
   2.  Buildings
   3.  New International Airport

III. People's life in Hong Kong.
  1.  Living Conditions
  2.  Street Market

IV. Mixed culture in Hong Kong.
  1.  Different Religions
  2.  Different Festivals

IV. Fashionable city with a lot of fun.
  1.  Asian Shopping Heaven
  2.   Entertainent Industry

Section I.  Where is Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is on the southern coast of China.  Hong Kong's sub-tropical climate makes it the perfect year-round destination.
The cooler season is from mid-December to February, with the temperature averaging 62F, while the warmest months are from late May to mid-September, averaging around 85F.  Because of Hong Kong's important geographical position, it is called a gateway to China, which means foreign businesses and people always go to China through Hong Kong.  Hong Kong's English name is derived from two Chinese characters, Heung and Gong which mean fragrant and harbour.

This is a map of Hong Kong.  Hong Kong has an area of 413 square miles, and a population of 7 million.  It is made of three parts: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and New Territories. It also has hundreds of small islands.  On July 1, 1997 Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. As a SAR, Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy and is assured its constitution and Hong Kong's way of life, specifically its economy and judicial system that was set up by British colonists, will be unchanged for another 50 years.
In terms of languages, a number of languages are spoken in Hong Kong. Cantonese and  English are the two official languages in Hong Kong. The southern Chinese dialect of Cantonese is the most common spoken language and is understood by 97% of the population. English is spoken and understood by many people in Hong Kong and is used by the government and in the courts. Mandarin Chinese, the official language in Mainland China, is spoken by a number of people in Hong Kong and is also commonly understood here.

This is the most beautiful view in HK at night, look at how many lights there are!  There are thousands of foreign companies do their business in HK, to attract customers, they use a lot of neon lights on the top of those buildings which make Hong Kong a super flourishing city.

The tallest building in the picture is the Bank of China Building, it is the second-tallest building in Hong Kong, 74 storeies high. It's unusual shape is today's one of the best known landmarks of Hong Kong, even though the building isn't liked by everyone because of its sharpe corners, the spikes of the roof, etc. It brings bad luck, say the neighbors, closing up their windows to protect them from the bad luck. Still, it's one of the most impressive buildings in Hong Kong. The architect is Mr I M Pei.

Visitors to Hong Kong are served by one of the world's largest and most modern airports at Chek Lap Kok.  The huge building in the picture is the contol tower of Hong Kong International Airport.  The airport marks the conclusion of the $155.3 billion in money of the Day (MOD) terms Airport Core Programme and is Hong Kong's largest construction project to date.  The airport island is almost 6 km long and 3.5 km wide. The total area is 1,255 hectares, making it approximately the same size as the Kowloon peninsula.

Section III.  People's life in Hong Kong.

It is said that each one square inch land is one square inch gold in Hong Kong.  Since Hong Kong has a relatively large population with a limited land, it is extremely expensive to buy a house in Hong Kong.  It is said even the cheapest one-bedroom-apartment will cost more than a million US dollars.  Because Hong Kong is too crowded, apartment buildings are always very high.  In the picture, there is one of them, if you look closely (in the right picture), you can see outside the windows there are a lot of clothes are drying in the air.  ThatÌs why many people think HK is a good place for business, but not a good place for living at all.

This is a street food market in the Yau Ma Tei neighborhood.  There are a lot of this kind of street market in the residential area, the market opens in the early morning and close at dinner time.  Most of the goods are fresh vegetables and fruits.  It provides a lot of convenience for the people who live nearby.  Actually, street market is a traditional way for grocery shopping in China, Hong Kong  has carried on this tradition and the markets are liked by many Hong Kong people.

Section IV.   The Mixed Culture in Hong Kong.
Britain's occupation of Hong Kong, which ended in July of 1997, has made HK a mixed cultural city. For example, even today you can still hear the firing of the Noon Day Gun, a custom carried out since the 1840's and immortalized in Noel Coward's song Mad Dogs and Englishmen. On the other hand, HK people's favorite--Afternoon Tea--amidst ancient Chinese tradition.
 
 

Hong Kong was a British colony for a century but many people still believe in Buddhism.  Buddism is also the most widely spreaded religion in China, too. In the right picture, the big figure is the Bronze Buddha on Lantau Island, it is worshipped by millions of people each year. There are also a lot of Christian people and churches in HK.  Most of the christians are younger people and most of the Buddhist are older people.

HK people celebrate Chinese New Year and also Western Christmas.  The left picture is a group of people performance Chinese Dragon Dance on Chinese New Year's day.  People also give children lucky money and play fire works in Chinese new years.  The right picture is the Christmas in HK, people decorate buildings with Christmas lights and have big shopping days to exchange gifts between relatives and friends.

Section V.     Fashionable City With a lot of Fun.

This is Nathan Road--one of the most flourishing streets in Hong Kong.  It is a very famous place for shopping, even in mid nights, it is still possible to shop around and get food to eat.  Italian, French, Japanese products of famous brands can all be found in Hong Kong.  That's why people say Hong Kong is the heaven for shopping.  Lots of businesses are trying to attract people with their pretty lights.  It is hard to recognize the color of the sky, the later in night, the more colorful Hong Kong is, HK never sleeps...

A wide spectrum of entertainment, including art, theatre, music, festivals, popular entertainment and sports take place every day in Hong Kong.  Among all the entertainment, HK is most famous for its pop singers and movie industries. HK singers and actors including Jacky Cheung and many others are also very famous in all the rest parts of Asia.  HK people like to attend a pop concert in weekend, so it is always extremely crowded in the hall.  Hundreds of movies are produced in HK every year, too.  The left picture is one of the movies that was produced in Hong Kong.  They have a yearly reward called " Golden Hourse" for movies.  It is considered as the "Asian Oscar" all over the Chinese Speaking Asian area.  Traditional Chinese Opera (right picture) is also liked by many HK people.