Welcome to Hong Kong, city of life, and one of the most energetic places in the world. This hustle and bustle affects everyone when they arrive in Hong Kong. It is rush hour before you even clear customs.
A motley crew of fishing junks and an assortment of paddy fields blossomed into one of the major cities of the Far East, in only a few generations.
Today Hong Kong harbour bristles with sky-scraping success, and even with the economic wobbles since the 1997 handover the skyline changes noticeably every year.
Hong Kong can be one of the most riveting and unexpectedly beautiful urban spectacles on earth. A two-minute walk from the bustle of Central reveals a harbour view that the architectural boom of the 1980s and 1990s.
Hong Kong is a popular tourist destination as well as being one of the world’s major business centres and comprises Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories and the many Outlying Islands.
Hong Kong Disneyland is a theme park at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Nestled on a bay against a backdrop of green hills on Lantau Island in the South China Sea, the 310-acre park is 10 minutes by light rail from the international airport and 24 minutes from Hong Kong.
If Hong Kong is the ‘City of Life’, then life is a mall. There can be few places with more ships per square metre than Hong Kong &ndash because shops are everywhere. For years Hong Kong was is still is the major spot for shopaholics. The prime shopping areas are bedlam at weekends and merely chaotic during the rest of the week.
The hotels themselves are a reflection of Hong Kong – modern, compact, energetic and efficient – with service just a bit too rushed. Expect staff to be hurried and doing several things at once.
Hong Kong Disneyland Park isn't the only star on the scene for vacation-minded families in Asia. The magical theme park -- Disney's first-ever in China -- comes with its own supporting cast of two magnificently-themed hotels --
Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and
Disney's Hollywood Hotel.
From premier online map store; interactive Hong Kong maps; useful information on aspects like shopping, dining and transport; great source of local information as well as a variety of sightseeing opportunities; popular online digital map of Hong Kong; basic geographic facts; and political map, comprehensive data, and flag from the CIA World Factbook.
When it comes to restaurants little needs to be said – the dining is predictably excellent. Yet it can also be very cheap and whatever your budget the food is good. The Cantonese may be a tolerant bunch but not when it comes to poor cuisine. Hotel restaurants are right up there, their menus bulging with world-class culinary indulgences.
Hong Kong is a place that loses nothing with the seasons, but it can get uncomfortably humid in the summer months, and the monsoons between July and September can put a damper on things. September through April is the time to come although it can get a tad chilly in January and February.
A festival in Hong Kong is a major event on a scale hardly understood in the West. During Chinese New Year festivities, there is total disruption of everyday life.
For those wanting to proceed to Mainland China we provide the following China travel information. From visas, customs, GMT + 8 hours, Renminbi (RMB) or Yuan; tipping is not standard practice in China; official language is Mandarin Chinese; English is not widely spoken; international dialing code for China is 86; etc
