Study Abroad

Port Spotlight: Hong Kong

The name "Hong Kong" literally translates to "fragrant harbour," and is derived from the area where fragrant wood products and incense were once traded. Hong Kong encompasses 262 islands in the South China Sea, of which Lantau is the largest.

Hong Kong's settlement history dates back to the rule of the Qin Dynasty, when the region was first incorporated into Imperial China. Hong Kong was occupied by British forces in 1841 (during the first Opium War), and in 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease, declaring Hong Kong a free port of the British Empire.

In the 1980s, the impending lease expiration prompted the governments of the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China to discuss the issue of Hong Kong's sovereignty. The two countries signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to transfer the sovereignty of Hong Kong to the P.R.C. in 1997. The declaration stipulated that Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region, retaining its laws and high degree of autonomy for at least fifty years after the transfer. The handover ceremony occurred the night of 30 June 1997.

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