China

China pictures. This page currently shows pictures from only a tiny section of China, Hong Kong, the former British colony originally established as an imperial trading post that became part of China (as a semi-independent Special Administrative Region) during the Handover in 1997.

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Hong Kong

Stone lion watching the city from Victoria Peak

Hong Kong's doubledecker trams are ideal for people watching

Tired - a local on the North Point-Hung Hom Star Ferry service (approaching Kowloon)

Ships entering/leaving the Port of Hong Kong

Though returned to China more in 1997, British heritage in Hong Kong is often noticeable while walking around the city (the most obvious clue is probably the 'Mind the gap' announcement on MTR trains, which is an iconic phrase used on the London Underground)

Evening crowds

Hong Kong has a fairly hot subtropical climate - even winter days can have temperatures of as high as 20 degrees Celsius

Modern church

In Fanling rural scenes mix with high-rises

Rural high-rises

A rather interesting playground game in Fanling

Fanling, one of the few areas where bits of traditional Hong Kong were preserved

Rules and regulations(?) at the entrance of a Fanling footpath

According to an official website (in 2009), 93% of households have access to the sewage system - the traditional parts of Fanling, in the New Territories, aren't among these

Fanling village

Fisherman in Victoria Harbour across from North Point

Locals enjoying the mild winter weather in Wan Chai Sports Ground

Fu Lee Loy Shopping Centre - much unlike its western counterparts, but also unlike the ones in the more fashionable areas of Hong Kong

View towards Kowloon from the viewing platform in Central Plaza

View to the south from Harlech Road, just below The Peak - Pok Fu Lam Resveroir and the town of Aberdeen can be seen in the valley

Architectural chaos in the Mid-Levels neighbourhood (approximately halfway between seaside Central and The Peak)

Uninspiring (probably 1960s or 1970s) high-rises in North Point

The International Finance Centre 2 (IFC2) with the masses of high-rises in Tsuen Wan New Town in the background

IFC2 and the Kowloon Peninsula as seen from the Peak

Illustration of office life (why?) on the walls of the 800m-long Mid-Levels escalator, built for people living on the hills of Hong Kong island but working in the business district (Central and Admiralty) at the foot of the hills; the escalator runs downhill each morning (for early morning commuters), after which it runs uphill for the rest of the day

Massive landfill extending Hong Kong island once again; the seaside used to be where Possession Street is now (several hundred metres from the current shoreline)

Japanese manga character Doraemon used by the Hong Kong government's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) to demonstrate how to use the lifts safely

Hong Kong has one of the world's top 3 population densities

A British heritage - the 'look left/right' signs used in the UK extended with a Chinese version

Victoria Harbour

View along Hong Kong island from Lugard Road

Be nice, be happy / don't push, don't rush. Gates at an MTR (Mass Transpot Railway, Hong Kong's underground network) station on Hong Kong island

Chaotic alley in Sheung Wan near Hollywood Road

The Mid-Levels (between The Peak and Central) are mostly home to professionals working in downtown Hong Kong

Hong Kong is famous for its neon signs, but they're not nearly as ubiquitous as you might think; this one is in Fortress Hill

Neons along King's Road

No spitting - sign on an MTR train

Much of Hong Kong island is built on very steep streets

Businessmen in the Admiralty neighbourhood

Street life in SoHo ('SOuth of HOllywood Road')

Locals resting in pleasant Hollywood Road Park

View from Lugard Road running around the Peak

Possession Street marks the place where the British first landed on Hong Kong island; it is now hundreds of metres inland due to multiple landfills in the area

Auction - ad in Fanling

Public light bus

This doubledecker tram service runs along Hong Kong island; the underground is faster, but much less scenic

Kowloon City District, with the highest per capita income in Hong Kong (source: Wikipedia)

Small one-story building apparently built on top of a high-rise in central Hong Kong

Colourful towers in the The Sheung Wan neighbourhood

Sign in one of the myriad pedestrian overpasses crisscrossing Central

Despite Hong Kong now being part of China, its Special Administrative Region status allows for freedom of the press - for example this issue (in February 2009) openly criticised the Chinese government for not being honest about human rights.

Spectator at the Wan Chai Sports Ground

Wan Chai sports ground - a welcome open space in the middle of crowded Wan Chai

The Star Ferries crisscrossing Victoria Harbour are among the best known icons of Hong Kong

Kowloon waterfront with the International Finance Centre 2 in the background

Street scene in the North Point neighbourhood

Tai Chi

Wan Chai towers

Faceless and dilapidated high rises in the North Point area of Hong Kong island

Hong Kong

Lanes

On the top deck of a doubledecker tram - a cheap and scenic if not necessarily comfortable (when crowded) way to get around on Hong Kong island

Busy junction in Hong Kong

Admiralty

Hong Kong island as seen from Tsim Sha Tsui across Victoria Harbour

Central with the iconic towers built for the Bank of China and HSBC (originally the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation)

Hong Kong's efficient but often overcrowded system, the MTR (Mass Transit Railway)

A walk around the Peak (along Lugard and Harlech Roads) offers spectacular views of Hong Kong island and Kowloon

Central (Chung Wan) and the Mid-Levels

95% of Hong Kong's 7 million residents are Chinese

Warning

Population density is very high and apartments are often rather small

The Fortress Hill neighbourhood
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