Portal:Hong Kong.html

The Hong Kong Portal

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated regions in the world, and is famous for its energetic metropolitan area. It has a population of 7 million and has been continuously occupied for over 5 millennia. The modern city was founded by the United Kingdom, and became a British crown colony in 1842.

Despite its high population density, only about 17% of its land is built up, and greenery is everywhere. It is a place of contrasts - frenetically urban and adjacent to pristine greenery; extremely rich next to dirt poor; Western culture and Chinese culture. Victoria Harbour is world famous for its splendid nightview from the Peak. The central business district is heavily urbanised with skyscrapers all around, but country parks and beaches are just kilometres away. Traditional towns and villages, as well as natural reserves, are common in the suburban and rural New Territories, including the outlying islands. Public transport is very efficient, convenient, comfortable and reliable.

Hong Kong is currently a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, with its own government, judicial system, stamps, passports, customs policy, immigration control, currency etc. The rule of the road is different from the rest of China, and it has its own delegations to various international organisations and sport events.

Hong Kong is officially bilingual, with English widely spoken in business and education. The majority of the population speak Cantonese as mother tongue, with a few speaking Mandarin and other European and Asian languages. English and Chinese are used in all official matters. The popular culture of Hong Kong is best represented by cuisine, pop music and films. Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam are all common. Focusing on trade, tourism, banking and finance, Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest economies in the world.

Selected article

The Bank of China Tower (traditional Chinese: 中銀大廈) is one of the most recognized skyscrapers in Hong Kong, and houses the headquarters for the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited.

Designed by I. M. Pei, the building is 305 m (1,000.7 ft) high with two masts reaching 367.4 m (1,205.4 ft) high. It was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992, and it was the first building outside the United States to break the 305 m (1,000 ft) mark. It is now the third tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after Two International Finance Centre and Central Plaza.

The structural expressionism adopted in the design of this building resembles growing bamboo shoots, symbolising livelihood and prosperity. The whole structure is supported by the five steel columns at the corners of the building, with the triangular frameworks transferring the weight of the structure onto these five columns. It is covered with glass curtain walls. The building has been criticised by some practitioners of Feng Shui for its sharp edges and its negative symbolism by the numerous 'X' shapes in its original design.

Selected biography

Sir Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen (born 7 October 1944) is the current Chief Executive and Head of Government of Hong Kong.

Often referred as "Bow-Tie Tsang" due to his preference of wearing a bow tie, he assumed the office of Chief Executive of Hong Kong since 2005. Tsang began his civil servant career in 1967, since then had occupied various positions in finance and trade in the Hong Kong Civil Service, and was appointed Financial Secretary of Hong Kong in 1995, becoming the first ethnic Chinese to hold the position under British administration. He remained in that position after the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong before being appointed Chief Secretary for Administration after the resignation of Anson Chan. Known for his flamboyant style, Tsang has won praise for his handling of the Hong Kong economy both as Chief Executive in the mid-2000s and as Financial Secretary in the late 1990s, but has been under pressure to push for democratic reforms.

Selected picture for November

Did you know...

• ...that Water caltrop is eaten in Hong Kong?
• ...that Tung shing is a book published in Guangzhou and also Hong Kong?
• ...that the Chief Secretary position was called "Colonial Secretary" before 1976?
• ...that Portland Street is widely considered the city's most famous red-light district?
• ...that Cyberport is a state-of-the-art broadband network building?

Tasks you can do

• Please visit the Hong Kong Wikipedians' discussion board and help to write new Hong Kong-related articles, and expand and improve existing ones.
• Visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Hong Kong/Assessment, and help out by assessing unrated Hong Kong articles.
• Add the Project Banner to Hong Kong articles around Wikipedia.
• Help nominate and select new content for the Hong Kong portal.
• Clean up all MTR station pages. They are literally all over the place. Merger information is incomplete. Line pages are a mess too. Two model pages are Tsing Yi Station and Sheung Shui Station. They have a feature special to the station, Station layout, exit, and connections, as well as neighbouring stations.

Related projects

Hong Kong topics