If calmness and tranquility are the adjectives you can use to describe a good trip, leave Hong Kong on your travel plan. The overwhelming power of 14 million residents leaves the visitor wondering if insomnia is contagious in the city.
Hong Kong is an important symbol of the east and west, boasting of its Times Square and Paleolithic Age art. Extensive history and a thriving capitalist economy have made Hong Kong a world leader in modern technology and commerce.
The best way to navigate this urban jungle is to allow the unusual diversion to lead where it may lead, while visiting a few important sites on your way to Hong Kong.
From Opium Wars To Food: History of Hong Kong
Since the Stone Age, the island of Hong Kong has supported a rich community with influences from Europeans and Portuguese through a stable and moderate trade.
In the 1700s, the rise of Asian luxury goods and trade aroused much interest in the world in China, which had been neglected.
Following the mid-19th-century Opium Wars between Britain and China, Hong Kong was officially handed over to the British Empire as the Crown Colony which began in 1898 for a period of 99 years.
At that time, the Hong Kong economy grew internationally and became one of the most successful free markets today.
After 1997, Hong Kong was restored to China as a Special Administrative Region on the condition that the market and government remain free and democratic (non-Communist) while Beijing manages only national security and international negotiations ("one country, two systems") .
Today, Hong Kong has retained much of its independence and travel to Hong Kong has always been easy for Westerners.
You do not currently need a visa unless you are traveling through China. English is the official language as well as Chinese.
Visual Sounds & Sounds Of Hong Kong Travel
The ongoing chaos of modern life and the proliferation of ghosts of ancient life on the island will keep any traveler busy for a while.
A unique and respectful Chinese venue with birds singing in the cage is the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden where 70 bird stables, each beautifully decorated, fill the air with their harmony.
Elsewhere in the city you can not miss the Bank of China Tower, now a national monument to Hong Kong and a modern proclamation of China's growing role in the global economy.
In the center of the city is Times Square, a 9-story mall that spans Western commerce. Hong Kong's museums do not cross over, from science and space to history and art.
Once the city center's nerve congestion begins to have a negative impact it is easy to flee to one of Hong Kong's parks and monasteries.
Victoria Peak is a very popular refuge, standing 1,810 feet above the city lights - just to provide extra distraction for a small trading district.
The famous Man Mo Temple and Miu Fat Monastery provide a sanctuary for the peace of mind while Kowloon Walled City Park, once a protected Chinese secret during British rule, is a real refuge for Hong Kong concrete.
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