348
HISTORY
been introduced in face of enlarged public transport services and the increase in number, and in size, of private cars in daily use. The railway has changed from steam to diesel-electric traction. A new airport capable of meeting the needs of modern aircraft has been very largely completed and is in full operation. Airline passengers, many of them tourists from overseas, have in turn created a demand for more and better hotel accommodation, and for sightseeing and shopping facilities, and night-time entertainment.
Postal and telecommunication services have set new records in the traffic handled. Broadcasting, wired and wireless, has developed as a principal part of the Colony's entertainment, and wired television is for an expanding audience a supplement to the many modern cinemas patronized by the majority. Parks, playgrounds and well-supervised bathing beaches are only a few of the outdoor amenities which the public at large enjoy.
An increased, and ever increasing, tempo is apparent in every aspect of Hong Kong's daily life, but it is the growth of local industry which came into being to replace the traditional entrepôt trade of the Colony, which has been the most significant feature, after population growth, in the Colony's history in the post-war
years.
}