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USEFUL INFORMATION
HKSAR Government
Hong Kong was reunified with the mainland of China on July 1, 1997.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China has a high degree of autonomy and maintains its own economic, legal and social system.
Hong Kong has a free, open and vigorous media that operates without restriction or interference.
Land, People, Language and Customs
Hong Kong is situated on the southeastern coast of China. The total land area is 1,104 square kilometres covering Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories and 262 outlying islands that are mostly uninhabited.
About 95 per cent of the 6.99 million residents are of Chinese descent. There are significant expatriate populations from the Philippines, Indonesia, the United States, Canada, Britain, Thailand, Japan, India, Australia and Malaysia.
Buddhism and Taoism have a considerable number of followers in Hong Kong, while there are over 560,000 Christians, 90,000 Muslims, 40,000 Hindus, 8,000 Sikhs and 1,500 Jews.
The official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English. The majority of Hong Kong people speak the Cantonese dialect but Putonghua (also referred to as Mandarin) is gaining in popularity as closer ties develop with the mainland of China.
English is the lingua franca of the expatriate community as well as within business, commerce, finance and professional circles.
In order to work smoothly, especially when organising locations and logistics, overseas production companies filming in Hong Kong are strongly advised to include production crew who can speak both English and Cantonese, as well as Putonghua if filming in the mainland of China is envisaged.
Festivals and events
Hong Kong enjoys the best of East and West in regards to festivals and holidays ?Chinese New Year is celebrated with as much enthusiasm as Christmas.
General holidays in 2009 and 2010:
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2009
Every Sunday |
2010
Every Sunday |
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New Year |
1 January |
1 January |
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Lunar New Year |
26-28 January |
13-16 January |
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Ching Ming Festival |
4 April |
5 April |
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Good Friday |
10 April |
2 April |
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The day followin Good Friday |
11 April |
3 April |
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Easter Monday |
13 April |
5 April |
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Labour Day |
1 May |
1 May |
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Buddha's Birthday |
2 May |
21 May |
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Tuen Ng Festival |
28 May |
16 June |
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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day |
1 June |
1 June |
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National Day |
1 October |
1 October |
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Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival |
3 October |
23 September |
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Chung Yeung Festival |
26 October |
16 October |
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Christmas Day |
25 December |
25 December |
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The first weekday after Christmas Day |
26 December |
27 December |
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Other traditional festivals include Spring Lantern (Chinese Valentine's Day), the birthday of Tin Hau (Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of the Sea), the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, the Hungry Ghost Festival, and the birthdays of Confucius and deities Tam Kung (patron of the boat people) and Kwan Tai (God of Righteousness).
The most important festival is Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year), which marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year in late January or early February. During this time many local businesses will close for one or more days and many workers will take their annual leave.
During Lunar New Year and in the lead-up to Christmas and Western New Year, many buildings will put up magnificent displays of lights, which provide excellent photo opportunities.
During the Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen Ng), the waters around Hong Kong come alive to the sound of beating drums and Dragon Boat crews furiously paddling in a series of local and international races.
Lanterns of all shapes and sizes are brought out for the Mid-Autumn Festival, when families trek to the highest spots around Hong Kong to gaze at the full moon and eat specially prepared moon cakes.
On Cheung Chau Island - a 50-minute boat trip from Central - children dress in colourful costumes for the annual Bun Festival and parade which coincides with Buddha? Birthday. It is the only event of this kind in the world. The children sit atop tall poles, making it appear as though they are 'floating' above the crowd.
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Last revision date: Jun 1, 2009 |
