Black and white photo of Hong Kong

• Black and white photo of Hong Kong

Hong Kong - one of the leading financial centers of Asia and the world. It is a place where East meets West. Here, on the same street you can find traditional Chinese shops selling Chinese medicine or soup from shark fin, a movie theater, which comes the latest Hollywood blockbuster or McDonald's.

Today will be a bit unusual in modern Hong Kong, black and white.

The name "Hong Kong" literally means "fragrant harbor" and is derived from the name of a place in today's Aberdeen district on Hong Kong Island. Once it sold products made from fragrant wood and incense.

As we know from history, in 1842, Hong Kong was captured by the United Kingdom and remained its colony until 1997, when the People's Republic has received the sovereignty over the territory.

Hong Kong is located on the peninsula Koulunskom. Total to Hong Kong are 262 islands in the South China Sea, the largest of which is the island of Lantau. The second largest and the first in terms of population - the eponymous Hong Kong Island - the location of the authorities and financial centers.

A large part of the territory (over 75%) is still undeveloped, since it is dominated by hills and mountains with steep slopes.

This is the area of the most densely populated countries in the world where the population density exceeds 6200 people per square kilometer. km.

The long winding irregular coastline Hong Kong has many bays, rivers and beaches. A narrow strip of water which separates Hong Kong and Kowloon Peninsula is known as Victoria Harbor. This is one of the deepest natural maritime ports in the world.

During the 1990s the population of the territory began to grow rapidly, mainly due to immigrants from mainland China. By the end of 2010, it amounts to more than 7 million people. About 95% of Hong Kong residents are Chinese.

The average life expectancy in Hong Kong in 2006 was 81.6 years - it was the fifth in the world.

The official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, so the bilingual signs are found everywhere in the territory. Government institutions, the police, the majority of establishments and shops doing business in both languages.

Due to the rapid economic growth of Hong Kong one of the four "Asian tigers" and "dragons", as well as Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

Currently, the service sector provides more than 90% of Hong Kong's gross domestic product.

In addition to the status of one of the world trade center, Hong Kong is the largest entertainment center. Several Hollywood celebrities are natives here, including Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

More than 80% of trips Hong Kong people make by public transport.

The climate is tropical and winter lasts from December to March. Although the winter - is a relative term, since the lowest temperature recorded on record in Hong Kong, is -4C.

Hong Kong is often described as a place where East meets West. This is reflected in its architecture, education and urban culture. On the same street you can find shops and traditional Chinese Buddhist incense or shark fin soup from, and modern cinemas with McDonald's.