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Hong Kong is a place of contrasts—geographically, socially and economically. Although many Asian cities claim to be where East meets West, the former British Crown colony is probably the closest the world comes to the genuine article.

Travel to Hong Kong and scratch the cosmopolitan, tech-heavy surface and you'll discover vestiges of ancient China in its culture. Residents invariably live in two worlds: Skyscrapers and enormous shopping malls adjoin narrow alleys crowded with traditional vendors' stalls. Businesspeople use cell phones to consult fortune-tellers before making important decisions. Even as the city delves deeply into technology, it preserve ancient customs—particularly in regards to the correct feng shui of buildings. Only a few miles/kilometers away, farmers and gardeners in less frequented villages in the New Territories tend their crops much as they have for generations.

Perched precariously on the edge of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong—with its strategic deepwater harbor and proximity to the rest of Asia's most populous nation—profited for decades as the capitalist gateway for the communist giant to the north. What was once a settlement of fishing villages became one of the world's busiest international ports and business centers.

Hong Kong is a city of levels. At the top is Victoria Peak, on Hong Kong Island, from which mansions of the wealthy look out over the high-rise apartments of the merely affluent. Farther down the mountain are alleys and tenements dotted with colorful balcony gardens. Living on the water itself are the remnants of Hong Kong's boat people—fishing families who traditionally spent most of their lives on their boats.

Across the harbor on the mainland are Kowloon and the suburban New Territories, which were once Hong Kong's vegetable garden and now also host Hong Kong Disneyland. Although the popular image of Hong Kong is a place where every square inch/centimeter of land is crammed with high-rise apartments and office buildings, in reality 38% of all land in Hong Kong is designated as national parks and special areas. There are wonderful scenic areas and hiking routes ranging from gentle family walks to challenging long-distance trails.

This is also a time of transition for Hong Kong. Tourists and businesses from neighboring China increasingly fuel Hong Kong's economy. Hong Kong has become a popular shopping destination for Chinese visitors on holidays, weekend jaunts or en route to or from Southeast Asia.

Must See or Do

Sights—A trip via the 100-year-old tram to the top of Victoria Peak; a ride on the picturesque Star Ferry; sightseeing from trams along the island.

Museums—Hong Kong Science Museum; Hong Kong Museum of History; Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware; Hong Kong Heritage Museum; Hong Kong Maritime Museum.

Memorable Meals—Dim sum at the six-decades-old Luk Yu Tea House & Restaurant; afternoon tea in the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel; taking the world's longest escalator to Staunton Street for a drink or meal at one of the bars, cafes or restaurants in hip SoHo.

Late Night—Temple Street Night Market, with hawkers selling everything from snacks to watches to blue jeans; shoulder-to-shoulder bars and clubs in Lan Kwai Fong and along nearby Wyndham Street in Central; views of Hong Kong from Aqua Spirit.

Walks—Walking around the top of Victoria Peak to take in the magnificent views of the city and the South China Sea; hiking the Dragon's Back above Shek O Beach; shopping for antiques along Hollywood Road.

Especially for Kids—Ocean Park; the aviary in Hong Kong Park; sand castles and a barbecue lunch at Shek O Beach; Hong Kong Disneyland; Hong Kong Space Museum; a ride in the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars on Lantau Island.

Geography

Hong Kong lies on China's southern seaboard and is surrounded by the mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, the capital of which is Guangzhou (formerly called Canton).

Hong Kong is divided into three distinct regions: Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, which include the largely rural mainland area north of Kowloon and south of the border with China and the more than 260 Outlying Islands that speckle the South China Sea. The New Territories is also home to large, high-density towns such as Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan, created in recent decades to handle population overspill from Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

The whole territory covers 426 sq mi/1,104 sq km, accommodating a population of more than 7.4 million people, predominantly of Chinese descent.

Parts of Hong Kong, including Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, are among the most densely populated areas in the world. The two are separated by the historically important Victoria Harbor, a naturally sheltered deepwater port (Hong Kong, or Heung Gong, means "fragrant harbor" in the local Cantonese dialect); it is abuzz with luxury liners, cargo ships, ferries and pleasure junks.

At the southernmost tip of Kowloon is Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong's most prominent tourist district. Tsim Sha Tsui's main traffic artery is Nathan Road, a bustling, neon-lit strip of camera shops, tailors, souvenir vendors, upscale boutiques, hotels, restaurants and bars known as the Golden Mile. Nathan Road continues north through Jordan, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok, areas also notable for their retail outlets and nightlife.

On the north side of Hong Kong Island, directly across the harbor from Tsim Sha Tsui, Central district is the financial and commercial heart of the city. The densely packed, middle-class residential neighborhood above Central but below the heights of Victoria Peak is aptly called the Mid-Levels.

Directly east of Central is Wan Chai—once a bawdy entertainment district but increasingly becoming a more affordable eating and drinking option than Central's Lan Kwai Fong and Wyndham Street. It's perhaps best known as the location for the 1961 film The World of Suzie Wong.

Next in line is the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay. Directly inland behind Causeway Bay nestles Happy Valley, an exclusive residential district and site of the more dramatic of Hong Kong's two racecourses (the other is in Sha Tin in the New Territories) and Hong Kong Stadium, which hosts major sporting events.

Prime real estate and sandy beaches characterize the southern part of Hong Kong Island. Several of the Outlying Islands, with a decidedly Mediterranean atmosphere, can be reached by ferry. The largest is Lantau, which can also be reached from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon by road and rail via a suspension bridge. Lantau is the site of Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok.

The picturesque islands of Lamma, Peng Chau and Cheung Chau are also popular weekend getaways. Another popular getaway area is the Sai Kung Peninsula in the New Territories, where there are weekend houses and a country atmosphere around quiet or even deserted villages.

History

There is evidence of fishing and farming settlements in the area dating back 6,000 years, but Hong Kong's history is generally documented from the 17th century, when the Manchus from the frigid northeastern regions ruled all of China. Hong Kong's location near the mouth of the strategically important Pearl River made it a favored port of call for trading vessels—and the haunt of pirates and adventurers from around the globe.

Although China regarded trade with foreigners as distasteful, it allowed the Portuguese to establish a colony in nearby Macau in the mid-1550s to trade in Chinese goods; Guangzhou (also called Canton) on the Pearl River was opened to foreign traders in 1685. Uninterested in foreign goods, imperial China thrived on exports of its teas, silks and porcelain.

The situation changed in the late 18th century when British traders discovered the Chinese would buy opium, which they imported from India. When the emperor tried to end the lucrative practice, Britain seized upon the issue to expand economic trade in the region, prompting the Anglo-Chinese War of 1839-42 (also known as the Opium War). No match for Britain's warships, China reluctantly gave up Hong Kong Island to the British in 1841. Further concessions in land and trading opportunities were wrested from China in other skirmishes. It subsequently was forced to cede the Kowloon Peninsula and scores of surrounding islands—roughly 90% of Hong Kong—but in 1898 successfully negotiated the transfer so that it was done as a 99-year lease.

In 1997, when Hong Kong was transferred back to China as a Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Chinese government promised one country, two systems. For the most part, it has kept its word, but the SAR has also had to contend with a more open China and its larger role in the global economy. Where Hong Kong was once the exclusive gateway to trade with China, there are now many ports of entry.

Following an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in early 2003, government campaigns to encourage cleanliness and greater investment in city services have led to a cleaner Hong Kong. Sanitary hand-cleanser dispensers can be found alongside most elevator banks, a reminder of ongoing awareness, and toilet rolls are almost universally in place.

A more serious problem is the pollution caused in part by more than 50,000 factories just across the border in Guangdong Province, mostly built with Hong Kong investment. Many local people suffer pollution-related health problems, and each year there are a greater number of days of very high pollution, despite the government banning high-polluting vehicles and offering subsidies to replace diesel-powered buses and trucks to combat the problem. Still, Hong Kong offers advantages unavailable in China's buoyant economy, such as a transparent financial system. It remains a vibrant example of both order and industriousness.

Potpourri

One of the few nods to the days of the British Empire, the Noonday Gun has been fired every day from Causeway Bay since the 1840s.

Chinese and British traditions still intertwine; barristers in formal wigs and gowns plead their cases in Cantonese.

The world's most expensive tree preservation project was the HK$24 million (about US$3 million) spent on the upkeep of a 120-year-old banyan tree in Pacific Place mall on Hong Kong Island.

Playwright and composer Noel Coward was a regular at the Peninsula Hotel and immortalized it in his song "Mad Dogs and Englishmen". Other celebrity vignettes include the story that Clark Gable taught the Peninsula's barman how to make a screwdriver cocktail. And when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton walked through the lobby, it is said that the chatter of afternoon tea (where every day 1,000 scones are consumed) was stilled.

Kowloon tailors compete for the fastest record from cloth to finished suit. Sam the Tailor on Nathan Road holds the record at one hour, 52 minutes for Britain's Prince Charles; more normal times are approximately 12 hours to slightly more than three days, with two fittings preferred.

Hong Kong people are the world's leading consumers of oranges; they go through more than 200,000 tons per year. Much of the fruit is initially bought as altar offerings for ancestral spirits and gods.

The Peninsula Hotel owns the world's largest Rolls-Royce fleet, with a total of 50 Brewster Green Rolls-Royces on hand to whisk guests around town and provide the most stylish airport pickups.

Hong Kong is the most vertical city in the world, with more than 1,300 skyscrapers, and high-rise buildings numbering in excess of 6,500.

Location

Cruise ship visitors can arrive at Ocean Terminal, on the western side of Tsim Sha Tsui (pronounced chim-sa-choy) in Kowloon. The Ocean Terminal is adjacent to Harbour City, a 700-plus unit shopping complex that includes restaurants, three hotels and two cinemas.

This cruise terminal is within a short walk of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with its art and space museums as well as access to the MTR subway system, taxis and Star Ferry terminal. A Hong Kong Tourism information center is open in Star Ferry Concourse daily 8 am-8 pm. There is also a taxi rank.

Hong Kong's Kai Tak Cruise Terminal can accommodate some of the largest ships in the cruise industry. This was once the site of the city's old airport, which was infamous for its "checkerboard approach" where planes would make daunting, 90-degree last-minute turns through the crowded skyline before touching down on the runway.

Shore Excursions