Settling in

Hong Kong

The Visitors’ Useful Guide

About Hong Kong

Climate

Entertainment & Leisure

Hospitals & Schools

Housing & Accommodation

Law & Order

People & Culture

Shopping

Transportation & Infrastructure

About Hong KongSpectacular, exciting, electric, breathtaking, historic. These are all words often used to describe Hong Kong . Hong Kong is all this and much, much more. Come with us as we take you on a preview of the city we are proud to call our home.

Hong Kong is roughly 1,000 square kilometers. Its strategic position is at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta in the southeast corner of China. It is largely mountainous, with an abundance of lush, green foliage. It has dramatic, rocky coastline that drop off to either the harbor or the South China Sea.

Its population is about 7.3 million, 97% being ethnic Chinese. Hong Kong is a multilingual society with both Chinese and English as Of-ficial languages.

A British Colony from the middle 1800’s until July of 1997. Hong Kong then reverted to Mainland Chinese sovereignty. Hong Kong cur-rently is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Basically, that means that while it is a part of China, it enjoys a large measure of independence, self-government and democratic institutions.

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ClimateHong Kong is located just south of the Tropic of Cancer, about the same latitude as Mexico City or Casablanca.

The climate is subtropical because of the southwest monsoon, a moist, warm, equatorial airflow that provides a rainy season from May to August. Temperatures typically rise to 30 degree Celsius, or the middle 90’s Fahrenheit.

The winters are cool and dry as the monsoon abates. The weath-er tends to develop over Mainland China and flow down to Hong Kong. This brings cool, dry temperatures that seldom get below 5 degrees Celsius, or the low 40’s Fahrenheit.

The average annual rainfall in Hong Kong is about 88 inches. Ty-phoons are a common occurrence in Hong Kong from around July to as late as October. These are violent storms that can virtually shut down Hong Kong for up to 24 hours – sometimes even longer.

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Entertainment & LeisureHong Kong people work hard - and they play equally hard. There are a wide variety of activities of activities from water sports, to hik-ing, to golf and tennis. There is something for just about anyone in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong boasts more than 100 kilometers of excellent hiking trails that offer breathtaking vistas of the city skyline, Victoria Harbor and the South China Sea

Expatriate social life often revolves around private clubs and orga-nizations. There are many business, recreation, social and athletic clubs to choose from. Some are expensive and have long waiting lists; others are more affordable and readily accessible.

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Hospitals & SchoolsHong Kong has a number of world-class hospitals and medical fa-cilities. Doctors, dentists and other medical professionals are often trained overseas and they brought back with them the latest tech-niques and treatments.

Both Western and Chinese medicine is practiced so this may be a good opportunity for the more adventurous and open-minded to explore alternative herbal medicine. Prescription medicine is rela-tively inexpensive and easy to find in one of the many pharmacies in Hong Kong.

True to its Chinese roots, education enjoys a high priority and is taken very seriously in Hong Kong. There are more than 30 inter-national schools that cater to expatriate children including French, British, American, Canadian, German, Swiss, Japanese, Korean, Sin-gaporean and many others.

Private schools often have waiting lists so it is advisable to plan ahead. Some schools offer debentures that assure a place for chil-dren of debenture holders. In any case, this is one area where it is important to plan head to make the proper arrangement before you arrive in Hong Kong.

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n Housing & Accommodation

Expatriate housing in Hong Kong generally falls into one of two cat-egories: High-rise apartment blocks and low-rise townhouses. Sin-gle family, detached housing that is common in the US and Western Europe is extremely rare. Generally, expat apartments (flats) range from 900 to 2,800 square feet.

Furnished apartments exist but are rare. There are a number of in-ternational property agencies in Hong Kong that can help you find suitable housing. Once you do, be warned that storage space is limited. Residential leases are typically two years duration but this, and most other clauses, is very much negotiable on a case-by-case basis.

Despite recent economic difficulties, rentals have not declines a great deal and Hong Kong remains one of the most expensive rental markets in the world.

The current trend in rents continues downward but the limited amount of land, combined with a steady uptake of available hous-ing units, indicates that rents should stay at rates on a par with some of the most expensive cities in the world.

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Law & Order

Hong Kong is one of the safest large cities in the world. Random, violent crime against individuals is extremely rare. Like anywhere, you need to be careful and mindful of your property especially in crowded areas.

Other than that, you, your spouse, and your children can feel safe almost anywhere in Hong Kong, at almost any time of the day or night.

Hong Kong has an exceptionally effective and professional police force. They are well funded, well trained and effective in maintain-ing law and order. Much the same can be said for the courts of law, which were set up by the British and modeled after their legal

system.

People & Culture

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What make Hong Kong so special is its people. A diversified mix of southern Cantonese Chinese combines with large communities from European, North American and other Asian nations to produce a dynamic, hardworking and vibrant population. Hong Kong people are noted for being hardworking, industrious, well educated and family oriented.

Hong Kong’s culture is rich and robust. It draws heavily on its diverse population to offer the residents a wide variety of religious, holi-days, festivals, food, languages and customs. Freedom of religion, guaranteed in the Basic Law, allows many different faiths to co-exist peacefully, side by side.

Hong Kong celebrates both Asian and Western festivals. There are a great number of holidays but the Chinese New Year merits special mention. Usually in late January or early February (it’s a lunar event so the exact dates change each year).

It’s a weeklong celebration, time to rekindle old friendships and spend time with close family members. Many people from Hong Kong make their way into China to their ancestral villages to pay their respects to family members, both past and present.

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Shopping

Hong Kong has the well-deserved reputation as a shopper’s para-dise. Some people think that Hong Kong’s national sport is shop-ping – and who are we in disagree!

Whether it is famous designer brands, private labels, off-brands, trendy or functional – Hong Kong has it all. And whether you like large, air-conditioned, modern malls – or small, rough and tumble street vendors – it’s there for your taking.

Food shopping is available either in modern, Western-style super-markets, or Asian-style wet markets and fresh food stalls. Be pre-pared to bargain and bring your best negotiating skills along with you!

There are a large number of supermarkets, delicatessens, gourmet food shops and specialty stores that provide imported food and foodstuffs. It’s likely that you will be able to find most things you are looking for, whatever that may be.

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n Transportation & Infrastructure

Because of the population density, Hong Kong offers a wide variety of cheap, efficient and modern mass transportation alternatives. Trams, ferries, taxis, buses, trains, and a world-class underground rail system are but some of the choices you will have.

A private car is nice and relatively affordable compared to other Asian commercial centers. However, a private car is certainly not a necessity in order to easily find your way round Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has, unquestionably, some of the best roads, bridges, tunnels, trains, and airport of any city in the world today. In addition, Hong Kong’s ultramodern port is one of the busiest in the world.

Hong Kong is not sitting still. A number of huge, ambitious projects are on the drawing board including bridges that connect Hong Kong

with other segments of the fast developing Pearl River Delta.