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Appendix 1
Units of Measurement
Metric, British Imperial, Chinese and United States units are all in use in Hong Kong. Metrication is proceeding in some sectors where the benefits are clear and a Metrication Ordinance provides for the replacement in enactments of non-metric units by metric units. In China, Chinese units have been officially replaced by units of the International System of Units; in Hong Kong the use of Chinese units is almost entirely limited to the meas- urement of length and mass, although various Chinese units of area are still occasionally used. The Chinese units in the table below are those which have statutory equivalents under Hong Kong's Weights and Measures Ordinance.
In China the standard size of the chek (Chinese foot) increased through the three millennia from the Chou period, and in practice the size also varied according to the locality and the trade in which the unit was used. However, the metre is now the basic unit of length in China. In Hong Kong the statutory equivalent for the chek is 14 inches. The variation of the size of the chek with usage still persists in Hong Kong but the chek and derived units are now used much less than in the past. For the retail sale of cloth, a 'yard' of 24 Chinese inches (35.1 inches) has been frequently used in the past. The piece goods and tailoring associations have recommended to their members that they should adopt metric units.
In the past, the values in China for the units of mass have varied according to the locality but the conventional Chinese units have been replaced by the kilogram and its multiples and sub-multiples. A metric catty of exactly 0.5 kilogram is also in use. The tabulated values below are calculated in accordance with the present Hong Kong statutory equivalent for the leung (tael) of 14 avoirdupois ounces. However, for trading in gold, a conversion rate of 1 tael equal to 1.203 37 troy ounces (37.429 0 grams) is generally used. Chinese units of mass are also used for the sale of Chinese medicine and in the local fish, vegetable and meat markets. For the sale of fish, in particular, some hawkers use a balance with only 12 or 14 taels to the catty instead of 16.
Chinese Units
Metric equivalents
Length
10 fan
10 tsün
= 1 tsün (Chinese inch) = 1 chek (Chinese foot)
37.147 5 mm 0.371 475 m
Mass
10 fan (candareen)
= 1 tsin (mace)
10 tsin
= 1 leung (tael)
3.779 94 g 37.799 4 g
16 leung
1 kan (catty)
0.604 790 kg
100 kan
1 tam (picul)
60.479 0 kg
The metric equivalents for length are exact. Six significant figures are used for the metric equivalents for mass.