Exciting Hong Kong Awaiting You!: ABOUT HONG KONG

Hong Kong is one of the great world cities. Although, there are little natural resources, except one of the finest deep-water ports in the world. It is famous because of world-class financial, trading and business centre.
Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997, after 150 years of British administration.

Area: 1,103 sq km
Country: China
Population: 6.89 million
Telephone Area Code: 852
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +8 (Hong Kong Standard Time)

LOCATION

Situated at the southeastern tip of China, Hong Kong is ideally positioned at the centre of East Asia. With a total area of 1,103 square kilometres, Hong Kong is divided into three main areas - Hong Kong Island, Kowloon peninsula just opposite, and the New Territories the more rural section of Hong Kong, which also includes 262 outlying islands.

(Sources: http://www.hktravelguide.com/)

HONG KONG'S CLIMATE

Hong Kong's climate is sub-tropical, tending towards the temperate for nearly half the year.

General Temperatures

Spring (March to May) : Temperature and humidity rising. Temperature 18 - 25 degrees Celsius.Jackets or sweaters suggested.

Summer (June to mid-September) Hot and humid. Temperature 28 - 33 degrees Celsius. Shirtsleeves, cotton clothing, a sweater for indoors and an umbrella for outside are suggested.

Autumn (mid-September to Nov) Temperature and humidity drop. Temperature 20 - 28 degrees. Clear sunny days.CelsiusShirtsleeves to sweaters and light jackets suggested

Winter (Dec to Feb) Cool with low humidity. Temperature 15 - 18 degrees Celsius. Suits, light woollens and sometimes overcoats are suggested.

About 90 per cent of the rainfall occurs between April and September. An umbrella for outside is suggested.

http://www.hko.gov.hk/

LANGUAGE IN HONG KONG

Chinese (Cantonese is widely spoken) and English are the official languages of Hong Kong.

Cantonese is the Chinese dialect spoken by over 88% of the people in Hong Kong. However, English is widely used in the Government and by the legal, professional and business sectors as well as tourist areas. Most taxi drivers and salespeople are able to communicate in English.

Since reunification with China in 1997, Mandarin, more commonly known as Putonghua – the official dialect of China, has gained in prominence and most locals can at least comprehend it to a certain degree.

To help you interact with local people, here are some useful Cantonese phrases.

HONG KONG CURRENCY

Currency

The legal tender is the Hong Kong dollar (HK$), which is linked to the US dollar at a rate of about 7.80 HKD to 1 USD, although exchange rates may fluctuate slightly. Interestingly, Hong Kong banknotes are issued by three banks (HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of China), and vary in design and colour for each denomination.

Banknotes