Hong Kong consists
of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
The Kowloon Peninsula is attached to the New Territories
in the north, and the New Territories are in turn connected
to mainland China across the Sham Chun River (Shenzhen
River). In total, Hong Kong has 262 islands in the
South China Sea, of which Lantau is the largest. Hong
Kong Island itself is the second largest and also the
most populated. Ap Lei Chau is the most densely populated
island in the world.
The name "Hong Kong", literally meaning "fragrant
harbour", is derived from the area around present-day
Aberdeen and Wong Chuk Hang on Hong Kong Island, where
fragrant trees were once abundant and widely exported.
The body of water between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon
Peninsula is Victoria Harbour, one of the deepest natural
maritime ports in the world. The landscape of Hong
Kong is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes.
The highest point in the territory is Tai Mo Shan,
at a height of 958 metres (3,142 ft). Lowlands exist
in the northwestern part of the New Territories.
Hong Kong is 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of Macau,
on the opposite side of the Pearl River Delta and borders
the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province. Of the
territory's 1,104 square kilometres (426 square miles)
and nearly 7 million residents, less than 25% is developed;
the remaining land is remarkably green and significant
portions are reserved as country parks and nature reserves.
This is because most live and work in high-rise buildings
in the city and surrounding new towns. |