REPORT ON THE SOCIAL & ECONOMIC PROGRESS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE COLONY OF HONG KONG FOR THE YEAR 1938.
Chapter I.
GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE AND HISTORY.
Geography.
The Colony has a total area of 390 square miles which consists of the following:-
(1) The island of Hong Kong, on which lies the capital city of Victoria, and Stonecutters' Island.
The Kowloon peninsula, which is almost completely urbanised. These two areas are British-owned.
(2) The New Territories. These include a portion of the mainland of China lying south of the Shum Chun River, approximately seventeen miles north of the northern boundary of the Kowloon peninsula and, secondly, certain outlying islands and the seabeds of Deep Bay and Mirs Bay. The New Territories are held from China on a ninety-nine years lease dating from the 1st of July, 1898.
The Colony is situated off the south-eastern coast of China between latitude 22° 9′ and 22° 17′ N., and longitude 113° 52′ and 114° 30′ E. at the eastern foot of the delta of the Pearl River. Forty miles across this delta lies the Portuguese colony of Macao, and at the apex of the triangle thus formed is the Chinese city of Canton, some ninety miles north-west of Hong Kong.
The island of Hong Kong has an area of thirty-two square miles and is about eleven miles long and two to five miles in breadth. It is dominated by a group of treeless hills rising steeply on the west to a maximum height of 1,823 feet above sea-level. The more gradual slope on the east affords some scope for cultivation. A parallel range of similar height rises on the mainland opposite about a mile from the shore. The New Territories are for the most part mountainous with considerable flat rather swampy areas to the north.
Climate.
The climate of Hong Kong is sub-tropical, and is governed to a large extent by the monsoons, the winter being normally cool and dry and the summer hot and humid. The north-east monsoon sets in during October and persists until April. The early winter is the most pleasant time of the year, the weather being generally sunny and the atmosphere often exceedingly dry. Later in the winter the sky becomes more cloudy, although rainfall remains very slight; in March and April long spells of dull overcast weather may occur. Warm southerly winds may temporarily displace the cool north-east monsoon at this period; under these conditions fog and low cloud are prevalent.
From May until August the prevailing wind is the south-west monsoon, a warm damp wind blowing from equatorial regions. Winds are more variable, however, in summer than in winter, for the south-west monsoon is frequently interrupted. The weather is persistently hot and humid, and is often cloudy and showery with frequent thunderstorms. The summer is the rainy season, three-quarters of the annual rainfall falling between the months of May and September.
Hong Kong is liable to be affected by typhoons from June to October, although they are occasionally experienced before and after this period. A typhoon whose centre passes over or near the Colony is usually accompanied by winds of hurricane