Travel information with destination guide in Hong Kong by GuideRooms.com   

Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is commonly known as Hong Kong and guaranteed by the Basic Law to have a relatively high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years under the policy of "One Country, Two Systems" which retains its own legal system, currency, customs policy, and immigration laws. It also maintains its own delegation to most international organizations

Hong Kong, the world's fourth largest banking and financial center and eighth largest trading economy. Situated in the southeast of China, Hong Kong holds 1,104 square kilometers (about 426 square miles) with more than 6,970,000 people. These 97% of the population are Chinese and speak Cantonese and English while Mandarin seems more popular in Hong Kong now. Most of people are commonly Buddhism and Christianity. Hong Kong is comprised with four parts: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories, and Outlying Islands.

Festival

• The Lunar New Year
  The most important festival. Gifts and visits are exchanged among friends and relatives, and children receive ‘lucky money’ or “Ang Pao”.
  
  
• The Ching Ming Festival
  In spring, ancestral graves are visited. It falls in early summer (fifth day of the fifth lunar month).
  
  
• The Dragon Boat Festival
  Celebration with dragon boat races and by eating cooked glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves.
  
  
• The Mid-Autumn Festival
  Falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Gifts of mooncakes, wine and fruit are exchanged, and adults and children go into parks and the countryside at night with colourful lanterns.
  
  
• Chung Yeung
  On the ninth lunar month, when many visit their ancestors’ graves or hike up mountains in remembrance of an ancient Chinese family’s escape from plague and death by fleeing to a mountain top.
  
  
• SPRING LANTERN FESTIVAL
  It falls on the First Moon, Day 15. Gain an wonderful experience in the Chinese world of romance during the Spring Lantern Festival. This festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. During the festival, singles gather to play matchmaking games with the lanterns, to determine who will be their lover. The festival is marked by special evening celebrations on Ko Shan Road Park in Kowloon.
  
  
• CHEUNG CHAU BUN FESTIVAL
  Celebrated on the fourth moon, day 8. Enormous bamboo towers studded with white chinese bun and effigies of three gods dominate the grounds near the Pak Tai Temple, where the main festivities take place. The festival that lasts for about a week climaxes with a large, colourful street procession, which features costumed children on stilts in a carnival atmosphere that winds its way through the streets.
  
  
• Dragon Boat Festival
  This Festival, also known as Tuen Ng Festival, commemorates the death of a popular Chinese national hero, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the Mi Lo River over 2,000 years ago to protest against the corrupt rulers. The real highlight of the festival is the fierce dragon boats racing in a lively, vibrant spectacle and decorated dragon boats to the beat of heavy drums.

Contact

Hong Kong has communications facilities as modern as any in the world.

Post

Postal services are efficient and of high quality. You will find post offices in major city areas and outside of opening hours, coin- and Octopus card-operated stamps vending machines. You can buy stamps (sets of ten stamps of $1.4, $2.4, $3) from many convenience stores such as 7-Eleven or Circle K (OK).

Internet Access

Cyber cafes are widespread in the city, but they are generally geared towards gamers. For simple Internet access, you may want to go to terminals in cafes like Pacific Coffee which can be used for free by customers. Free terminals can also be found in some public areas, such as shopping malls, departures hall in the airport, MTR Wanchai station and Central Station, and the public libraries. The central public library in Causeway Bay, opposite Victoria Park, has hundreds of free terminals and free broadband access if you bring a notebook PC.

Telephone

The prefix for international calls 001. Hong Kong's country-code is 852 (different from China and Macau). Local phone numbers (mobile and landlines) are typically 8 digits; no area codes are used. For the operator, dial 1000. For police, fire service or ambulance dial 999.

Mobile phone subscriber penetration is very high (115% in 2004). If you have a GSM handset (GSM 900, 1800) or WCDMA (UMTS) handset , purchase a prepaid SIM card to use in your phone. They can be bought for cash at most convenience stores. 2G (cheaper) and newer 3G cards are available, but both are relatively cheap. If your CDMA handset has a SIM slot, you can pick up the less popular CDMA SIM cards, note that the CDMA network coverage is not as great as that of GSM and WCDMA (UMTS). A card with value of around $50 should be sufficient unless you are making international calls. Most cards provide standard services such as SMS and voice mail. For the adventurous types, discounted prepaid SIM Cards can be purchased in Ap Liu Street in Sham Shui Po, and "Sin Daat" arcade in Mongkok (Argyle St - close to Lady street). Cheap GSM and 3G phones can be purchased here as well. Mobile phone numbers also have eight digits and begin with 6 or 9. Be aware that you pay to both make and receive calls and this includes the unfortunate situation of having to pay to listen to increasingly common spam (advertising) calls. Coverage is generally excellent and is available on almost all operators even when underground, including the whole MTR system, on board the trains and cross-harbor tunnels.

Payphones are available and $1 is for a local call for 5 minutes usually. If you don't have a mobile and need to make a short local call, most restaurants, supermarkets and shops will oblige if you ask nicely. Public payphones are becoming more and more difficult to find on streets nowadays, the take is to go into any MTR/train stations, they always have payphones there. The airport have a courtesy phone just before you step out of the glassed area after the customs - you cannot go back there once you left.

Crime

As large international cities go, Hong Kong is one of the safest, in terms of crime and personal safety. However it does have its share of petty crime, but it can be avoided with some street smarts.

Do not do business with people pushing their cards to you on the streets (so called street hawkers, mainly legal and illegal immigrants near Nathan Road, Kowloon). They advertise tailor services and consumer electronics and the prices are 20-100% higher than in reliable chain stores and department stores. Usually you are asked to pay half beforehand, and when you come to claim your product, they say it's sold out and offer another model for much higher price. It can be very hard to get your money back from them as they might even hold your credit card as a 'hostage' and refuse to give it back unless you agree to take the more expensive item. Don't buy electronic items from brands you'd never heard of because they might be overpriced low quality chinese products without any warranty anywhere else. Best advice is to avoid street hawkers completely (don't even reply to them or you will attract only more!), and if already in trouble, contact the nearest police officer immediately.

Watch your purse and wallet at all times. When in restaurants, do not sling your pack or purse behind your chair. Clutch any bags or purses in front of you when on the buses and railways. Always look like you know what you are doing or where you are going to avoid any pickpockets.

The emergency number for police, fire and ambulance is 999. Be aware that police officers have the authority to check IDs without prior cause of suspicious, and when there is a search for illegal immigrants, visitors, especially those who are not Caucasian, are also sometimes checked. Cooperate with the police during these investigations, though if police violate their authority, do not hesitate to call the Complaint Against Police Office Hotline at 2866-7700. There are also reports of some police officers requesting bribes when checking IDs. If this happens, don't be intimidated. Just dial the number mentioned above and report the matter.

Healthy

One unexpected cause of sickness in Hong Kong is the extreme temperature change between 35°C (95°F) humid summer weather outdoors and 18°C (65°F) air-conditioned buildings and shopping malls. Some people experience cold symptoms after moving between the two extremes so often; it is not unusual to wear a sweater or covering to stay warm indoors (though the Hong Kong Government currently encourages the temperature in air-conditioned buildings be kept at 25.5 °C for energy saving, etc.)

Whilst tap water is technically safe to drink (taste aside), the government highly recommends boiling it before consumption as contamination may occur in the piping system. Most locals boil or filter their water, or buy inexpensive bottled water.

Because of recent concerns about SARS and the threat of Avian Flu, there are hygiene stations around town featuring antiseptic hand gel and alcohol sprays. You're wise to use them in crowded areas such as shopping malls, lifts and public areas, just to be safe. Basically, it's a safe place to visit.

Products

Hong Kong is one of the world's top exporters of garments, watches and clocks, toys, games, electronic products and certain light industrial products.

How to get there

Air: International air service is departure tax is usually included in the airfare. Some 60 airlines operate more than 1,600 scheduled and nonscheduled flights weekly between Hong Kong and more than 100 cities. The latest international airport is at Chek Lap Kok
Rail:  the only way into Hong Kong is through mainland China. Trains run between Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Canton), Shanghai and Beijing (about 30 hours). Big-spenders can take the Trans-Siberian Railway from Europe to Beijing and on to Hong Kong.
Car: Hong Kong offers bus services to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other destinations in Guangdong Province. Buses depart from on Hong Kong Island, and the rest in Kowloon and the New Territories.
Water: There are boats that take you to destinations in Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces, as well as Macau. Departure tax is almost always included in the ticket.

* Hong Kong transportation is conveniently linked by air to all major cities worldwide; it is also the major gateway for travel to China. Its free-port status makes it one of the most attractive shopping destinations in the world.

Hong Kong attractions

• Hong Kong Disneyland
  This development marks the beginning of a new era for Hong Kong as an international tourist destination, occupying 126 hectares on Lantau Island.
  
  
• Hong Kong Museum of Art houses
  The Hong Kong Museum of Art is one of the museums collects in excess of 14,000 art objects, including Chinese paintings and calligraphy works, antique Chinese treasures, paintings of historical significance.
  
  
• Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware
  Flagstaff House originally served as the office and residence of the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong. The Museum holds regular demonstrations, tea gatherings and lecture programmes to promote ceremic art, Chinese tea drinking culture and include many fine examples of the famous Yixing teapot.
  
  
• Peak tower
  The Peak Tower was designed with seven floors with a total area of 10,400 m² (112,000 ft²) in a wok shape. There is a viewing platform on the third floor.
  
  
• Ocean Park
  The largest leisure paradise in Southeast Asia, and one of the largest marine parks in the world. Covering a total area of over 200 acres.
  
  
• Repulse Bay
  The most popular beach in Hong Kong, you can found on the southern part of the island. With people, sand and views of some islands in the South China Sea. "Repulsive Bay" has called because there is much garbage here on weekend.