10 Interesting Facts about Hong Kong

10 Interesting Facts about Hong Kong  

Hong Kong is a beautiful region in China and is as interesting as it is beautiful. There are numerous interesting facts about Hong Kong that many people are still unaware of. Perhaps this list was one of the top 3 things friends and family would ask me about when we chatted. What’s interesting? What’s fun? How is the city and people different? The list goes on.

While these are just 10, the list can be really much longer. They’re in no particular order but all are Interesting Facts about Hong Kong!

Take a look at ten amazing facts about the city that will surprise you. They surprised me too when I learned about them in Hong Kong.

• Meaning of Hong Kong’s Name: Hong Kong’s complete name is Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, also commonly referred to as ‘Hong Kong SAR.’ The meaning of the name is ‘fragrant harbor’ as the name is derived from Chinese characters, namely Heung and Gong.
  • This isn’t only one of the most interesting facts about Hong Kong, but one of the most important.
• Longest Rail and Road Suspension Bridge: People coming to Hong Kong from the city’s airport pass through the Tsing Ma Bridge. It is a rail and road suspension bridge and is the ninth longest bridge of this sort in the world.
  • The bridge was second longest when it was completed, but soon more bridges of this kind were constructed in other countries, so it became the ninth longest bridge then. It has one island each at both its ends: Tsing Yi and the famous Ma Wan. The bridge’s name has been derived from the names of these islands.

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• Numerous Skyscrapers: Hong Kong has several skyscrapers and the number is more than the skyscrapers found in other cities of the world. There are over eight thousand buildings in Hong Kong that have over fourteen levels. This number is two times more than the buildings in New York.

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• Robot Waiters: A restaurant was established in Hong Kong on 17^th July, 2006 that employs robots as waiters. Yes, you will be served by robotic waiters in this restaurant who will take your order, as well as give interesting performances. This helps make make it to the top list of most interesting facts about Hong Kong.
• Large Number of Rolls Royce Owners: Hong Kong is one of the four cities in the world that has the biggest number of Rolls Royce. The other three cities are Singapore, New York and Paris.
• Extremely Dense City: Hong Kong is extremely dense. You cannot find your way easily through the crowds in a market of Hong Kong. The Mong Kok market located in the Yau Tsim Mong District has a density of 130,000 per km.
• Official Languages: Hong Kong has not one, but two official languages, and English is one of them as well. Yes, that’s true! English, also known as Yingyu and Cantonese (a form of Chinese) are the two official languages of the city.
• Mag Dogs and Englishmen: The famous English dramatist ‘Noel Coward’ is the one who created the popular phrase ‘Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday.’ Very few people know that this phrase was actually referring to Hong Kong.
  • Coward made this phrase keeping Hong Kong in mind. It refers to the popular Noonday Gun that takes place in Causeway Bay. It has been taking place daily ever since the time the British formed colonies in Hong Kong.
• It Hardly Sleeps: Hong Kong is another city like London and Paris that hardly sleeps. You will find several stores open 24/7 in Hong Kong. Moreover, the city is illuminated by bright ambient lights that stay on all the time.
  • Neon colored displays in various colors are visible throughout the city and provide you with light, so you don’t need to switch on lamps in your room at midnight.
• Octopus Card: The Octopus Card is a smart card that contains credit and can be used at supermarkets, car parks, convenience stores, restaurants, vending machines and most importantly, the MTR and buses!.

As mentioned above, these are only some of the most interesting facts about Hong Kong. What always amazed me and made so many things an interesting fact of Hong Kong was how much these facts are a way of life for the local people. That Octopus card was so cool when I first got it that I still have it till today, some 9 years later.

Enjoy!