Chapter I.
GEOGRAPHY, INCLUDING CLIMATE AND HISTORY.
The Colony of Hong Kong is situated off the south-eastern coast of China between latitude 22° 9′ and 22° 17′ N. and longitude 114° 5′ and 114° 18′ E. The island is about eleven miles long and two to five miles in breadth, its circumference being about 27 miles and its area 32 square miles. It consists of an irregular ridge of lofty hills rising to a height of nearly 2,000 feet above sea level, stretching nearly east and west, with few valleys of any extent and little ground available for cultivation.
2. The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain in January, 1841, the cession being confirmed by the Treaty of Nanking in August, 1842. The charter bears the date of 5th April, 1843. The Kowloon peninsula and Stonecutter's Island were ceded to Great Britain under the Convention, signed at Peking in October, 1860, and under the Convention signed at Peking in July, 1898, the area known as the New Territories including Mirs Bay and Deep Bay was leased to Great Britain by the Government of China for 99 years. The total area of the Colony including the New Territories is about 390 square miles.
3. The importance of Hong Kong has grown with the increase of China's trade with foreign countries. It is now in respect of tonnage entered and cleared one of the largest ports in the world. It is the most convenient outlet for the produce of South China as well as for the incessant flow of Chinese emigration to the Netherlands East Indies, Malaya and elsewhere. It is also the natural distributing centre for imports into China from abroad.
4. The Colony is not primarily a manufacturing centre, the most important of its industries being those connected directly or indirectly with shipping, such as dock and warehouse, banking and insurance undertakings. Sugar refining and cement manufacture are also major industries, and in recent years considerable quantities of knitted goods, electric torches and batteries, and rubber shoes have been produced and exported.
5. The climate of Hong Kong is sub-tropical, the winter being normally cool and dry and the summer hot and humid; the seasons are marked by the prevalence of the S.W. monsoon in summer and the N.E. monsoon in winter. The temperature seldom rises above 95° F. or falls below 40° F. The average rainfall is 85.16 inches, May to September being the wettest months. In spring and summer the humidity of the atmosphere is often very high, at times exceeding 95% with an average over the whole year of 79%. The typhoon season may be said to last from June to October though typhoons occasionally occur before and after this period.
Chapter I.
GEOGRAPHY, INCLUDING CLIMATE AND HISTORY.
The Colony of Hong Kong is situated off the south-eastern coast of China between latitude 22° 9′ and 22° 17′ N. and longitude 114° 5′ and 114° 18′ E. The island is about eleven miles long and two to five miles in breadth, its circumference being about 27 miles and its area 32 square miles. It consists of an irregular ridge of lofty hills rising to a height of nearly 2,000 feet above sea level, stretching nearly east and west, with few valleys of any extent and little ground available for cultiva- tion.
2. The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain in January, 1841, the cession being confirmed by the Treaty of Nanking in August, 1842. The charter bears the date of 5th April, 1843. The Kowloon peninsula and Stonecutter's Island were ceded to Great Britain under the Convention, signed at Peking in October, 1860, and under the Convention signed at Peking in July, 1898, the area known as the New Territories including Mirs Bay and Deep Bay was leased to Great Britain by the Government of China for 99 years. The total area of the Colony including the New Territories is about 390 square miles.
3. The importance of Hong Kong has grown with the increase of China's trade with foreign countries. It is now in respect of tonnage entered and cleared one of the largest ports in the world. It is the most convenient outlet for the produce of South China as well as for the incessant flow of Chinese emigration to the Netherlands East Indies, Malaya and else- where. It is also the natural distributing centre for imports into China from abroad.
4. The Colony is not primarily a manufacturing centre, the most important of its industries being those connected directly or indirectly with shipping, such as dock and warehouse, banking and insurance undertakings. Sugar refining and cement manu- facture are also major industries, and in recent years considerable quantities of knitted goods, electric torches and batteries, and rubber shoes have been produced and exported.
5. The climate of Hong Kong is sub-tropical, the winter being normally cool and dry and the summer hot and humid; the seasons are marked by the prevalence of the S.W.. monsoon in summer and the N.E. monsoon in winter. The temperature seldom rises above 95° F. or falls below 40° F. The average rainfall is 85.16 inches, May to September being the wettest months. In spring and summer the humidity of the atmosphere. is often very high, at tirnes exceeding 95% with an average over the whole year of 79%. The typhoon seasoon may be said to last from June to October though typhoons occasionally occur before and after this period.
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