GEOGRAPHY
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factories actually producing because there are many that are small and not registered. Shipbuilding, textiles, clothing, rubber goods, light metal products, electrical apparatus and plastics are the most important industries. With very few exceptions the Colony is dependent on outside sources for its raw materials. Principal among these are oil fuel, iron, steel, cotton, plastics, rubber and wood. The location of industry has been influenced by accessibility to the seaboard. A broad pattern is that of dockyards and heavy bulk-type industries such as oil storage depots, sugar refineries and iron works along the coasts, while the lighter industries, in- cluding textiles, have settled on cheaper land further inland or on the post-war reclaimed lands. The growth of industry and the accompanying building boom has created a steady demand for skilled workers, but many unskilled labourers are under-employed. Chapters 3 and 6 discuss labour and industry fully.
A basic factor in the growth of Hong Kong as a trading and manufacturing centre has been the development and maintenance of an efficient system of transportation and communications. Ship- ping facilities have kept abreast of all requirements whether for ocean, coastal or cross-harbour purposes, and there are large fleets of motor vehicles of all types to provide carriage on land.
Communications are the subject of Chapter 15.
The economy of Hong Kong is still expanding rapidly and the post-war change in emphasis from entrepôt trade to industrial development is now also influenced by tourism which yearly pro- vides an increasingly important source of income. Although the refugee problem continues to be serious, the economic prospects for the Colony as a whole are good.
CLIMATE
Although the Colony lies within the tropics it enjoys a variety of weather from season to season which is unusual for tropical countries. This is largely because of the monsoonal type of climate. The winter monsoon normally begins during September and lasts until about mid-March. Early winter is the most pleasant time of the year when the weather is generally dry and sunny and is the most popular time for tourists. After the New Year the sky is more often clouded, though rainfall remains slight and dull