Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國香港特別行政區, Simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国香港特别行政区; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū; ) is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau which is very much influenced by the Portuguese style. It is commonly known as Hong Kong (Traditional Chinese: 香港; Simplified Chinese: 香港; Pinyin: Xiānggǎng; Cantonese Yale: heūng góng), which is often written Hongkong in older English-language texts.

Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842, until its sovereignty was transferred to the PRC in 1997. It is governed as a special administrative region under the Basic Law of Hong Kong. Under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the PRC has promised that Hong Kong will have a relatively high degree of autonomy until at least 2047, fifty years after the transfer of sovereignty. Under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, it retains its own legal system, currency, customs policy, cultural delegation, international sport teams, and immigration laws.

Hong Kong is therefore a place where an English speaker can live… not everywhere though, not where the University is: in the New Territories.

Hong Kong is divided into several regions : the New Territories, Kowloon, Lantau Island, Hong Kond Island and Lamma Island. They are all divided into 18 administrative districts. I live in one of them called Tuen Mun in the New Territories.