Hong Kong Tourism
Hong Kong has an identity as a cosmopolitan center where the Western and Eastern cuisine, cinema, music and traditions are reflected and the city is renowned for its expansive skyline and natural setting as well. With a population of 7 million people but land area of 1,108 km2, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The population consist 95% of Chinese people and 5% of people of other ethnicities.
As much of Hong Kong’s terrain is hilly to mountainous with steep slopes, less than 25% of the territory’s landmass is developed, and about 40% of the remaining land area is reserved as country parks and nature reserves. Hong Kong’s long, irregular and curvaceous coastline also affords the territory with many bays, rivers and beaches.
Hong Kong has made much effort to promote a green environment, despite its reputation of being intensely urbanized. Awareness of the environment is growing as Hong Kong suffers from increasing pollution compounded by its geography and tall buildings.
The Climate
Hong Kong has a humid subtropical climate and is situated just south of the Tropic of Cancer. The most pleasant seasons are spring, although changeable, and autumn, which is generally sunny and dry. The city averages 1 948 hours of sunshine annually, with the highest recorded temperature of 36.1 °C and the lowest recorded at 0 °C.
Summers
Although summers are known for its occasional showers and thunderstorms, it is usually hot and humid. It is also the time when typhoons are most likely, sometimes resulting in flooding or landslides.
Winters
The winter usually starts out to be sunny and only becomes cloudier towards February with occasional cold fronts and strong, cool winds from the north.
The Economy
Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading financial centers and the currency used is the Hong Kong dollar. Hong Kong imports most of its food and raw materials because it has little arable land and few natural resources. The exports of Hong Kong consist mostly of re-exports of products made outside of the territory. At the end of 2007, there were 3.46 million people employed full-time, with the unemployment rate averaging 4.1%.
The Architecture
Hong Kong has 7650 skyscrapers, making it one of the cities with the greatest number of skyscrapers in the world. Hong Kong has been rated as the city with the best skyline in the world. The lack of available sprawl space in the urban area results in the high density and tall skyline of the city. This lack of space causing demand for dense, high-rise offices and housing, has resulted in 36 of the world’s 100 tallest residential buildings being in Hong Kong. It has more people living or working above the 14th floor than anywhere else on Earth, making it the world’s most vertical city. The International Commerce Centre is 484m high and is the highest building in Hong Kong at this stage.
Getting to Hong Kong
Visitors from South Africa can go to BestFlights.co.za to book flights to Hong Kong
Transport in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a highly developed transportation network, encompassing both public and private transport. Over 11 million daily travels are on public transport,making it the highest percentage in the world.
People in Hong Kong make use of the Octopus card payment system that can be used to pay for fares on railways, ferries, buses and for parking as well as purchases at supermarkets, convenience stores and fast food restaurants.
A tramway system covers the northern parts of Hong Kong Island and is the only tram system in the world run exclusively with double deckers. Single-decker buses are only used for routes with lower demand or roads with lower carrying capacity. {Public light buses run the length and breadth of Hong Kong.}
The Star Ferry service operates four lines across Victoria Harbour, providing a panoramic view of Hong Kong’s skyline for its 53,000 daily passengers.
The Peak Tram is used to get up and down Hong Kong’s steep, hilly terrain.
Hong Kong International Airport served around 47 million passengers and handled around 3.7 million tons of cargo in 2007 alone, making it one of the world’s busiest airports.