This Is Hong Kong
When China ceded the nameless, barren island off its south east coast to Britain in 1842 there were objections in Government circles that it was "utterly worthless".
Today Hong Kong has one of the finest harbours in the world, it is an important centre of international trade and a mecca for
tourists.
Hong Kong Island has an area of only 29 square miles. Kowloon peninsula, on the mainland, ceded in 1860, and the New Terri- tories to the north, leased in 1898 for 99 years, bring the Colony's total land area to 398 square miles.
Dominating the landscape are steep unpro- ductive hills. In the New Territories most of the flat land is intensively cultivated.
In the twin cities of Victoria and Kowloon,
on either side of the harbour, the skyline broken by a forest of skyscraper buildings.
mass.
But the feature that strikes the newcomer most is the number of people--a vast bustling The population at the end of the Pacific war was only 600,000. Now it stands at three-and-three-quarter-million. This in- cludes nearly a million immigrants who have come across the border from mainland China since 1949.
Everywhere in Hong Kong there is the hustle and drive of ceaseless activity and East meets West in surprising harmony.
On the streets, rickshaws and heavily-laden coolies mingle with modern cars and buses. Traditional temples, traders' stores and open- fronted small shops are overshadowed by modern multi-storey blocks and everywhere there are primitive hawker stalls.
The waterfront on Hong Kong Island with its skyscraper skyline.
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