Pearl of the Orient…

August 29, 2008 by Janet Lee
Filed under Article Categories, Lifestyle & Travel

Hong Kong the “Fragrant Harbour” is simply dazzling!

Experience the distinctive and dynamic blend of cultures from the ancient East and the new culture of the West. Hong Kong is on the northern fringe of the South China Sea tropical zone.

The main urban areas are established on Hong Kong Island (Victoria Peak) and the Kowloon Peninsula, where more than half of it’s population of 7 million lives.

Hong Kong has expanded in area over the years, and it continues to grow as more land is reclaimed from the surrounding sea. A great example of this, is the island that the international airport was built on. The International Airport was designed by the renowned British architect Sir Norman Foster. The airport’s passenger terminal is the world’s largest enclosed space, covering some 133 acres.

Hong Kong’s international airport is one of the world’s easiest airport to navigate thru. (Plan to arrive a couple hours before your flight. After breezing through security, you’ll have time to enjoy the great duty free shopping, that awaits you.)

The seasonal changes in Hong Kong are well defined, with hot, humid summers and cool, dry winters which provides for a great lushness and diversity of its plant life.

Chinese and English are both official languages. Chinese and especially Cantonese in the spoken form, is the common language.

Hong Kong has emerged strong and prosperous, albeit with a changed role over the past recent years. It has become a manufacturing and financial center, and a vital agent in the trade to the modernization of China. Hong Kong’s free-trade policy has made it one of the world’s great centers of trade for consumer goods such as clothing, radios, television sets, stereos, computers, and watches.