Hong Kong



"This is the city of Hong Kong. This has been a British colony for nearly two centuries, then when it was transferred back to China, everything remained unchanged. And now that things have gone downhill, Leni Loud ordered his men and women, including tanks, planes and warships to invade Hong Kong. My cousins were in there, and I feared that they will face severe punishments when Taiwanese forces implemented a terrifying military occupation in there."

--Su Ji-Hoon, Revenge

Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港, Cantonese: [hœ́ːŋ.kɔ̌ːŋ]), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in East Asia, south of the mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, and east of the former Portuguese colony and fellow special administrative region of Macau. With around 7.3 million Hongkongers of various nationalities in a territory of 1,104 kilometers (426 square miles), Hong Kong is the fourth-most densely populated region in the world.

Hong Kong was formerly a colony of the British Empire, after the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island from Qing China at the conclusion of the First Opium War in 1842. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860, and further acquired a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during the Second World War, until British control resumed in 1945. The territory was returned to China under the framework of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed by the United Kingdom and China in 1984 and marked with the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, when it became a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems," Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system apart from China. Except in military defense and foreign affairs, Hong Kong retains independent executive, legislative, and judiciary powers. Nevertheless, Hong Kong does directly develop relations with foreign states and international organizations in a broad range of "appropriate fields," being actively and independently involved in institutions such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the World Trade Organization.

Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centers, holding the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranking as the world's most competitive and freest economic areas. As the seventh-largest trading entity in the world, its legal tender, the Hong Kong dollar, is the 13th-most traded currency. Hong Kong's tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by competitive simple taxation and supported by its independent judiciary system. Although the city boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it suffers from severe income inequality.

The territory features the most skyscrapers in the world, surrounding Victoria Harbour, which lies in the center of the city's dense urban region. It has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the world's longest life expectancy. Over 90% of its population makes use of well-developed public transportation. Along with Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and several other major cities in Guangdong, Hong Kong forms a core part of the Pearl River Delta metropolitan region, one of the most populated areas in the world. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring industrial areas of mainland China, which adopts loose emissions standards, has resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates in winter.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, it is occupied by the Republic of China after an invasion.

Etymology
The name Hong Kong originally referred to a small inlet between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. The town of Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. The source of the romanized name is not known, but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the spoken Cantonese pronunciation of 香港 (Cantonese Yale: Hēung Góng), which means "fragnant harbor" or "incense harbor." Fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbor's fresh water influx from the Pearl River estuary or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Victoria Harbour was developed. Another theory is that the name originates from the Tanka, early inhabitants of the region; it is equally probable that a romanisation of the name in their dialect was used (i.e. Hōng, not Hēung in Cantonese). Regardless of origin, the name was recorded in the Treaty of Nanking to encompass all of Hong Kong Island, and has been used to refer to the territory in its entirety ever since.

The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of institutions founded during the early colonial era still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric, and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

Prehistory
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago. Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue to Hong Kong. Eight petroglyphs dated to the Shang Dynasty were discovered on the surrounding islands.

Imperial China
In 214 BCE, the Qin dynasty conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern-day Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the area of Hong Kong into China for the first time. After a brief period of centralization and subsequent collapse of the Qin dynasty, the area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the Nanyue kingdom, founded by General Zhao Tuo in 204 BCE. After the Han conquered Nanyue in 111 BCE, Hong Kong was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery. Archaeological evidence indicates an increase of population and expansion of salt production. The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built as a burial site during the Han dynasty.