the city and its neighbourhoods

THE CITY AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOODS Hong Kong owes a huge part of its success to its geography. Situated at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, it is the West’s natural gateway to China – a location that favoured the growth of international trade in the region long before the British colonials arrived in the 19th century. When Hong Kong was ceded to the British after China’s defeat in the First Opium War, the land was carved up into three main areas. Hong Kong Island, which is separated from Kowloon and the New Territories by Victoria Harbour, represents the city’s glossy, urban face. Slightly grittier Kowloon may sometimes be referred to as “the dark side” of Hong Kong, but it provides visitors with the chance to see a very different side of the city, one that arguably displays more character than the polished malls across the water. To the north, the New Territories encompass large rural areas and residential satellite cities; close to half of the city’s total population live in this region, but there is no shortage of visitor attractions either. Together, these three main regions form the charmingly contradictory Hong Kong as the world knows it today – a place where open-air “wet markets” compete for space with gourmet restaurants, where buildings are designed by famous Western architects in accordance with feng shui, and where humble traditional stalls can still hold their own against sprawling shopping malls.

Business jungle & luxury shopping LAN KWAI FONG, SOHO

Party central & creative hub SHEUNG WAN, WESTERN DISTRICT

Art galleries & historical buildings MID - LEVELS, VICTORIA PEAK HONG KONG LOUIS VUIT TON 20

Stately homes & leisurely strolls ADMIRALTY, WAN CHAI

Luxury hotels & lively streets CAUSEWAY BAY, HAPPY VALLEY

Shopping paradise & horse racing EASTERN DISTRICT

Quaint attractions & artistic migration

STANLEY, SHEK O, DEEP WATER BAY, REPULSE BAY

High peaks & white-sand beaches

ABERDEEN, AP LEI CHAU, WONG CHUK HANG, POK FU LAM

Family outings & sea views KOWLOON

Brand-name shopping & urban grit WEST KOWLOON

Ambitious cultural development NEW TERRITORIES, OUTLYING ISLANDS

Satellite cities & rural landscapes

THE CITY AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOODS GENERAL MAP

CENTRAL

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