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Hong Kong Fast Facts
While archaeological finds suggest that people have
inhabited Hong Kong for over 5,000 years, its known
history begins about 2,000 years ago, when China
officially absorbed Hong Kong and its hinterland during
the Han dynasty, with the Cantonese settling the area in
greater numbers between the 11th and 15th centuries.
After the Chinese imperial government was defeated
in the First Opium War (1840-1842), Hong Kong Island
was ceded to Britain in 1842, followed by the Kowloon
Peninsula and Stonecutters Island in 1860. In 1898,
a 99-year lease was granted on an area that became
known as the New Territories. Under British rule, Hong
Kong served as an international trade port. It also
transformed into a major manufacturing hub, with a
large number of immigrants from the Mainland providing
the workforce.
On 1 July 1997, Hong Kong became a special
administrative region of China under the policy of “one
country, two systems”. This arrangement allows Hong
Kong to retain its capitalist system, a high degree of
autonomy, an independent judiciary and its rule of law.
In recent decades, as China adopted an open-door
policy, Hong Kong has become a service-based
economy as well as an important gateway to the world’s
largest market.
History