Hong Kong

Hong Kong


Picture credit to stoppingover.com

Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China, situated on China's South coast. It is grown to a world-class financial, trading and business centre because of its strategic position. With a land mass of 1,104 km² and a population of around seven million people, it is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Hong Kong has a hybrid culture of the east and west, best described as a foundation that started with China and more influenced by British colonialism later on. Despite the 1997 transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong continues holding an identity of its own. The people of Hong Kong have their own culture and beliefs, which helps differentiate themselves from China.

The population is made up of 95 percent of ethnic Chinese and 5 percent of other groups. On various social aspects, the bottom-line Chinese values of "family solidarity", "courtesy" and "saving face" carry significant weight in the culture. (Face is an intangible quality that reflects a person's reputation, dignity, and prestige.) Heavy influence is derived from Cantonese culture from the neighbouring province of Guangdong. And also because of this, the most widely spoken language in Hong Kong is Cantonese.

The government has adopted the "biliterate and trilingual" policy since 1997. Under this principle, Chinese and English are acknowledged as official languages with Cantonese being acknowledged as the de facto official spoken dialect of the Chinese in Hong Kong. Though, Standard Mandarin is less practiced in Hong Kong, unlike China.