A Brief History of Hong Kong

Human activity on Hong Kong dates back over five millennia and there were early influences from
northern Chinese stone-age cultures. The British East India Company made the first successful sea
venture to China in 1699, and Hong Kong's trade with British merchants developed rapidly soon after.
After the Chinese defeat in the First Opium War (1839-42), Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842
under the Treaty of Nanking. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, Hong Kong developed as a
warehousing and distribution center for U.K. trade with southern China.

After the end of World War II and the communist takeover of Mainland China in 1949, hundreds of
thousands of people fled from China to Hong Kong. Hong Kong became an economic success and a
manufacturing, commercial, finance, and tourism center. On July 1, 1997, China resumed the exercise of
sovereignty over Hong Kong, ending more than 150 years of British colonial rule. Hong Kong is a Special
Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China with a degree of autonomy in all matters except
foreign and defense

Hong Kong Culture and Beliefs

People
Hong Kong has a hybrid culture of the east and west, though most of the people belong to the ethnic
Chinese group and naturally lean towards their own culture. There are of course many of them who have
adopted western ways. There is a heavy influence derived from Cantonese culture too.

Food
The food in Hong Kong is a fusion of eastern and western style cuisine. In Hong Kong you are sure to find
an unlimited variety of food. Hong Kong has been given the reputable labels of Gourmet Paradise and
World’s fair of Food because of its complex combinations and international gourmet expertise.

Dress
Traditional dresses like the pien-fu, the ch'ang-p'ao, and the shen-I are very popular among the women of
Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong, like those in China, associate specific colors with different
seasons. According to this, green is the color of spring, red the color of summer, white the color of
autumn and black the color of winter. The fashion of Hong Kong as well as the entire country revolves
around these colors throughout the year. Western clothes have also entered the Hong Kong culture with
jeans, skirts and other forms of dresses.

The traditional designs for men include embroidered clothes with unique designs like phoenixes, dragons
and lightening. The men in Hong Kong also wear the traditional long gown.

Martial Arts
In Hong Kong martial arts is accepted as a form of exercise and entertainment with Tai Chi being the
most popular. Every park in Hong Kong has people practicing this art at dawn. Most of the martial art
forms have been passed down from different generations of Chinese ancestry, with styles like the praying
mantis, snake fist and crane being the most recognized.

Leisure
People in Hong Kong spend time playing games like Mahjong, which is played in relaxation or with plenty
of money at stake. Hong Kong has lots of Mahjong shops and parlors available, which makes this game
easily accessible. In Hong Kong, people of all age groups also play video games. Today Hong Kong has
some of the most up-to-date arcades games available outside Japan. Middle-aged locals in Hong Kong
also spend time on horse racing and gambling.

Beliefs
Chinese beliefs form an integral part of the culture of Hong Kong. The people in Hong Kong pray and
make offerings at more than 600 old and new temples, shrines and monasteries that are found across the
territory. Feng Shui is taken very seriously here with expensive construction projects often hiring
consultants that are believed to make or break a business. The Bagua mirror is also regularly used to
shield evils. People in Hong Kong also believe in numbers, with the Number 4 being avoided at all costs
(since it is similar to the Chinese word for die). The people here believe in avoiding the use of scissors on
Chinese New Year too.

Festivals
Chinese New Year, Ching Ming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival are the most
celebrated festivals in Hong Kong.

• Chinese New Year

This is one of the most celebrated festivals in Hong Kong, with most
shops and small restaurants being closed for 3 days and some even
up to 8 days. During this time new clothes are worn to signify the
New Year with the color red being used liberally in all decorations.
Married people and elders also give red packets to juniors and
children. The festivities may vary from one region to region and from
family and family.
• Ching Ming Festival
The Ching Ming festival is also known as Remembrance of Ancestors
Day and is celebrated in April. Since this day is devoted to honoring
relatives who have died, thousands of Chinese visit cemeteries to
clean the graves of their loved ones. Young Chinese children are
taught to pray to ancestors and for, the family spirits. In Chinese
culture the symbol of light and enemy of darkness is the willow. Some
people carry willow branches or hang it on the front door on Ching
Ming.
• Dragon Boat Festival
This festival is undoubtedly one of Hong Kong’s most popular events.
The dragon boat festival draws thousands of spectators and racing
teams from around the globe. This event is growing more and more
popular around the world, especially in places like the USA, Canada
and Europe.
• Mid-Autumn Festival
This festival is also known as the Moon Festival and takes place on
the 15th day of the 8th months of the lunar calendar. This festival is a
time for members of a family to get together wherever it is possible.
Mooncakes form an important part of this festival and is given to
relatives and friends during the festival. According to tradition,
children carried lanterns of animal shapes lit by candles. During this
festival, the hills of Hong Kong, Victoria Park, the beaches and the
Peak are shimmering with the glow of lanterns as darkness
approaches.
Famous citizens

Jackie Chan (b. 1954), actor.

The Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation

Founded in 1988, the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation offers scholarships and active help to
Hong Kong's young people through a variety of worthy causes. Over the years, the foundation
has broadened its scope to include provision of medical services, aid to victims of natural
disaster or illness, and projects where the major beneficiaries are Hong Kong people or
organizations. Major donation projects of The Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation:

• The Jackie Chan Gymnasium at Lingnan University

• The Jackie Chan Challenge Cup Intercollegiate Invitation Tournament
• The Jackie Chan Family Unit, Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Jockey Club
Beas River Lodge
• The Jackie Chan Whole Person Development Center
• Renovation of the Bethanie Site, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
• Medical Funding in Mainland China (Operation Smile)[120]
• Medical Donation in Hong Kong (Queen Mary Hospital, SARS Relief)
• Support for the Performing Arts
• Youth Development Programs
Li Ka-shing A Hong Kong Hero

As Asia's richest and most influential investor, Hong Kong

tycoon Li Ka-shing has a fortune valued at $23 billion in
Forbes magazine's latest world billionaire rankings, which
makes him the ninth richest person in the world. The 79-
year-old controls a real estate developer, a cell phone
provider, retailers, a major supplier of electricity to Hong
Kong and the world's largest operator of container
terminals.

Larry Hsien Ping Lang Fighter Economist

Larry Hsien Ping Lang, Chair Professor of Finance at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong, began publishing a
series of articles in 2004 exposing allegedly flawed
management buy-outs (MBOs) during the restructuring of
some state-owned enterprises (SOEs).