Hong Kong Tuttle Travel Pack. Simon Ostheimer

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ The Star Ferry

       The Peak Tram

       The Mid-Levels Escalator

       The Lantau Big Buddha

       Kowloon’s Temple Street

       Happy Valley Horse Racing

       Stanley Village

       The Ping Shan Heritage Trail

       Tai O Village

       Sea Kayaking

       Hollywood Road

       Lamma Island

       Hong Kong Trams

       Morning Tai Chi Classes

       Dolphin Watching

       Harbour Junk Rides

       The Avenue of Stars

       Shek O Beachside Village

       Lan Kwai Fong Nightlife

       Dim Sum Brunch

       Afternoon Tea at The Peninsula

      Chapter 2

       Exploring Hong Kong

       Central

       Hong Kong Island

       Kowloon

       The New Territories

       The Outer Islands

       Macau

       The Mainland

      Chapter 3

       Author’s Recommendations

       Top Hotels

       Best Food & Restaurants

       Best Shopping

       Hippest Nightspots

       Best Kid-friendly Activities

       Best Museums & Art Galleries

       Best Nature Walks

       Practicalities

       Index

      HONG KONG MAP

       Hong Kong Map

       Hong Kong Map Index

      Hong Kong at a Glance

      Geography

      Located to the southeast of Mainland China adjoining the province of Guangdong, with the Pearl River delta to the west and the South China Sea to the east, Hong Kong covers 1,104 sq km, 40% of which is country park and nature reserves. It consists of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, which includes 262 outlying islands. Less than 25% of Hong Kong land is developed.

      Climate

      With a subtropical climate, temperatures can drop below 10 degrees Celsius in winter and top 31 degrees Celsius in summer. It is hot, humid and rainy from spring to summer, cool and dry in winter, and warm, sunny and dry in autumn. Average annual rainfall is 2,180 mm, and the driest month is January.

      People

      At the start of 2012, Hong Kong was home to approximately 7.1 million residents, with a population density of 6,480 people per sq km. Roughly 95% of Hong Kongers are ethnic Chinese, though there are also substantial numbers of Indonesians (148,000), Filipinos (141,000) and Thais (28,000).

      Language

      Cantonese, Mandarin and English are the official spoken languages of Hong Kong, while Chinese (traditional) and English are the official written languages. English is the language of legal, finance and business sectors. Cantonese speakers make up 89% of the population, Putonghua speakers 1.1%, other Chinese dialect speakers 5.8%, English speakers 3.1% and other language speakers 1.3%.

      Economy

      Hong Kong is the world’s 11th largest trading economy, with free trade, low taxation and mostly minimum government intervention. The economy is largely service-based and increasingly closely integrated with Mainland China. For 2011, GDP per capita was US$49,800, with a labour force of 3.7 million. The currency is the Hong Kong dollar (HKD or HK$).

      Government

      Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, following the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. The HKSAR’s constitutional document, the Basic Law, ensures that the current political situation will remain in effect for 50 years. The rights of people in Hong Kong are based on the impartial rule of law and an independent judiciary, while the Head of Government is the Chief Executive (the current holder is Leung Chun-ying), who oversees the semi-elected 60-seat Legislative Council.

      Religion

      There are a large number of religious groups in Hong Kong, including Buddhists and Taoists (700,000), Catholics (355,000), Protestants (320,000), Muslims (90,000), Hindus (40,000) and Sikhs (10,000), as well as a small Jewish community. Places of worship for all of the above can be found across the city.

      Hong Kong’s STORIED PAST

      As the walk-through exhibition at the Museum of History (100 Chatham Road South, 2724 9042; www.hk.history.museum) attests to the fact that Hong Kong has a long past—from СКАЧАТЬ