Two Months To Go to the 2008 Olympic Games: A Little About Hong Kong

By Louise Parkes

It may be difficult to believe, but in just over eight weeks' time the equestrian events of the 2008 Olympic Games will be getting underway in Hong Kong after a whirlwind of frantic preparations. People from all around the world will be winging their way to the Asian city which, just 11 years ago, was handed back to China after 156 years of British rule, and visitors are in for a real treat as they savour the unique mixture of Asian and Western culture.

Hong Kong lies on the south-eastern coast of China and covers 425 square miles, or 1,100 square kilometres. Described as a Special Administrative Region of China following the British hand-over in 1997, it consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. Hong Kong Island lies just south of Kowloon, separated by Victoria Harbour, while the New Territories, which includes more than 260 outlying islands, lies north of Kowloon and reaches to the border with the Chinese mainland.

Originally a collection of small fishing villages, Hong Kong was colonised by Britain in 1841. The Convention of Chuenpeh, signed in January 1841, gave Britain preliminary cession but it was the Treaties of Nanjing and Tianjin that sealed the fate of firstly Hong Kong Island itself and then Kowloon. Also known as the Unequal Treaties, the agreements resulted from the Opium Wars, or Anglo-Chinese Wars, which lasted from 1839 to 1842 and again from 1856 to 1860 - a trade dispute between China, under the Qing Dynasty, and the United Kingdom.

Because of the high demand for tea, silk and porcelain in Britain and the low demand for British commodities in China, the British developed a large trade deficit and had to pay for Chinese goods with silver which didn't sit very well with them at all. So the export of opium from British India was initiated in a successful effort to reverse the trade imbalance, but with devastating effect on the many Chinese people who became addicted to the juice of the poppy-seed which, today, continues to be used in the altered form of heroin.

The Chinese hero in this sordid period was a brilliant and highly moral official called Lin Tse-Hsua who, invulnerable to bribery and still hailed as a champion in his home-land today, took action against Chinese merchants and Western traders in an effort to put an end to the drug-trafficking. He wrote to Queen Victoria in protest, threatened to sever trade relations with England and started trying to expel British citizens. In 1830 he confiscated a warehouse full of opium in Canton, throwing 20,000 chests into the ocean, and when an attempt was made to turn away an English merchant vessel in 1839, the threat of confrontation loomed even larger. It became a reality the following year when British gunboats attacked Chinese coastal cities as the First Opium War began while the French, Russians and Americans joined in support of the British during the Second Opium War four years later.

It was in 1898 that the 99-year lease of the New Territories began, allowing Hong Kong to spread its wings a little further. The colony was already prospering and expanding and was becoming famous as a secure Asian hub for banking, shipping and insurance. Kowloon however had little water or arable land so Great Britain joined the multitude of other nations now demanding more territory from China. But the New Territories were not given in perpetuity and, as the expiry of the lease drew near, discussions took place during which China's Deng Xiao Ping expressed his determination to ensure that the entire region would be returned at the same time. On 19 December 1984 Britain and China agreed that Hong Kong would become a Special Administrative Region, with China allowing an unprecedented measure of autonomy and leaving the existing social and economic systems intact for the next 50 years. "One Country, Two Systems" became the catch-phrase to describe the policy, and on 1 July 1997 the transfer took place in spectacular style as, in the company of Prince Charles, the last British Governor, Chris Patten, said his goodbyes from the deck of the royal yacht Britannia - an eminently suitable vessel of departure in the light of the history between the two nations.

Hong Kong is the financial centre of East Asia and has one of the highest concentrations of banking institutions in the world. It has experienced strong and broad-based growth in recent years. GDP expanded by 7% in 2006 and 6.4% in 2007, unemployment has fallen, consumer confidence is high and retail sales grew by 12.8% in 2007 while total exports grew by 9.2%.

A total of 28.2 million people, or four-times the local population, visited Hong Kong last year representing an 11.8% increase from 2006, and in the first quarter of 2008 visitor arrivals already reached 7.28 million - the region has become one of the most popular stopping-off points on the globe.

Almost 95% of the population is Chinese and the official languages are Chinese and English, with Cantonese the most widely-spoken Chinese dialect but with the use of Putonghua growing all the time. Major signage is in English or is bi-lingual and visitors find that most people in the service industries speak English so it is very visitor-friendly. When the region returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 the Bauhinia Blakeana City Flower was chosen as the emblem for the newly-formed Hong Kong SAR. The plant, which is unique to Hong Kong, was discovered near the seashore at Telegraph Bay in the 19th century and the species was named after Sir Henry Blake, Governor of Hong Kong from 1898 to 1903, who was a keen botanist. Bauhinias are widely planted as ornamental trees in parks, gardens and on roadside verges, preventing soil erosion and landslides and serving as sound barriers, shelters and food sources for animals while also attracting wild-life.

Amongst the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong is Victoria Peak, from the summit of which visitors can gaze down on the jungle of skyscrapers that make up the spectacular Hong Kong skyline, while Victoria Harbour also lies below with its busy traffic of passing ferries and pleasure junks. The night-time view is a dazzling spectacle of light and movement.

Market shopping is key to the Hong Kong experience with the Ladies' Market in Mong Kok popular with those looking for inexpensive fashion items while Yau Ma Tei's Temple Street Night Market sells everything from T-shirts to electronics. Ocean Park is one of the biggest entertainment complexes of its kind in Asia and draws large crowds while Repulse Bay is one of the most accessible and picturesque beaches on the south side of the island. Sik Sik Yuen Tai Sin Temple is decorated in a riot of colours with its yellow latticework and multi-coloured carvings complementing its red pillars and golden roof. But for many visitors, the key to Hong Kong is the contradiction and confluence of differing cultures - and the mix will be all the more fascinating when the equestrian community descends on this exciting city in two months' time.

Photo Credit: Woman in traditional Chinese dress admiring the Hong Kong skyline - Martin Puddy / Getty Images