ENG-1955 — Page 252

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

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population; and Saikung, 1,472. The total population of the New Territories, excluding New Kowloon, is probably in the region of 300,000.

The population figures for Victoria and Kowloon are entirely approximate; see Population Chapter. The figures for New Territories towns have been arrived at from an unofficial census being carried out during 1955, and not yet completed, by the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk (Council of Village Representatives), in collaboration with the New Territories Administration.

Hong Kong Island is 11 miles long from east to west and varies in width from 2 to 5 miles. It rises steeply from the northern shore to a range of treeless hills of volcanic rock, of which the highest point is Victoria Peak (1,805 ft.) near the western end. Between these hills and the harbour lies the city of Victoria. The old part of the urban area runs up steep hillside for hundreds of yards, in narrow stepped streets and terraces; but more modern parts of the town stand chiefly on a strip of reclaimed land, averaging 200-400 yards in width, which extends 9 miles along the north shore of the Island.

Between the Island and the mainland lies the Port of Victoria, often described, with San Francisco and Rio de Janeiro, as one of the three most perfect natural harbours in the world. Its area is 17 sq. miles, varying in width from 1 to 3 miles. Ocean-going ships generally use the east, deep- water entrance, known as Lyemun, which is between 500 and 900 yards wide. On the western side the natural entrances to the harbour are wider but shallower. On this side a group of islands, which include Tsing I, Lantao and Lamma, provide effective shelter. The importance of Hong Kong has hitherto depended on this harbour, and on its favourable position at the mouth of the most important river system in South China, within easy reach of Canton, South China's largest city.

The ceded territory of Kowloon originally consisted of a number of low, dry foothills running southward from the Kowloon hills in a V-shaped peninsula 2 miles long and nowhere more than 2 miles wide. Here and there on the peninsula were a few small Chinese villages. Most of the foothills have now been levelled, and the rock and soil thus cut away have been used to extend the land by reclamation