ancient cities

370 Hong Kong, China
reformers and revolutionaries, including Sun Yat
Sen (1866–1925), who had significant roles in
shaping China’s modern history.
Following the establishment of the People’s
Republic of China in 1949, more migrants fled to
Hong Kong in fear of persecution by the communist
regime. They further swelled the population,
adding pressure to its housing. Acute housing
shortage and overcrowding prevailed. By the end
of 1949, an estimated 300,000 people lived in
squatter homes built on hillsides, on rooftops, and
in street alleys. Most of these squatter huts were
dark; badly ventilated; without water, plumbing,
and other facilities; and under constant threat of
termites, typhoon, and fire. Many private companies
in Shanghai and Guangzhou also shifted their
operations to Hong Kong. Prior to China’s present
open door policy in 1978, Hong Kong was the
only contact place between mainland China and
the rest of the world. After China’s open door
policy, Hong Kong remains an important source of
foreign direct investment to China. Its dynamic
growth offers a model for other Chinese cities.
In recent decades, Hong Kong’s economy has
grown rapidly with industrialization, especially in
textile and manufacturing industries where labor
costs are low. By the 1980s, Hong Kong had
become one of Asia’s economic “tigers” or newly
industrializing economies. Since the 1990s, it has
restructured its manufacturing base and shifted to
business services, emphasizing financial services,
tourism, trading and logistics, professional services,
and other product services. Manufacturing plants
have been relocated to the Pearl River Delta, promoting
the development of regional economy and
formation of a metropolitan region from Hong
Kong to Guangzhou, south China. China’s economic
policy innovation of special economic zones
in Shenzhen and Zhuhai in the late 1970s further
augmented Hong Kong’s hinterland.
In 1997, Hong Kong entered a historical phase
of development. The city returned to Chinese
sovereignty under the 1984 Sino–British Joint
Declaration. Hong Kong is granted a high degree
of autonomy in all areas except defense and foreign
affairs under the “One Country, Two Systems”
policy, at least up to 2047, allowing Hong Kong’s
capitalist system and lifestyle to continue for a
further 50 years. The chief executive and Executive
Council govern Hong Kong as a unitary authority
or special administrative region. Its legal system
continues to follow the English Common Law tradition
established by the British colonial administration.
Although presenting challenges as it is an
untried formula, the One Country, Two Systems
policy also yields opportunities for policy coordination
such as in trans-border issues, regional
infrastructure, tourism, technology policy, financial
markets, and coordination to stabilize exchange
rates. Many of those who emigrated ahead of the
1997 handover have since returned to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s vision for the twenty-first century is
to develop as Asia’s world city.
High-Density Vertical City
What makes Hong Kong unique is its high-density
vertical urbanization. Its high-density development
is a result of geography, historical development,
and land policy. Much of Hong Kong is hilly to
mountainous; more than 75 percent of the land is
on a hill slope. The average distance from the harbor
front to the steep hills of Hong Kong Island is
only 1.3 kilometers. Only 25 percent of Hong
Kong’s land area is developed. About 40 percent of
the remaining land is reserved as country parks
and nature reserves. Most of its urban development
exists on Kowloon Peninsula, along the
northern coast of Hong Kong Island, where most
of the flat land was created by government-
sponsored hill levelling and land reclamation, and
in scattered areas throughout the New Territories.
Government Role
The government owns all the land in Hong
Kong. The sale of land leases for terms of 75, 99,
or 999 years is one of the major sources of government
revenue. Land is amalgamated before leasing
to private developers through auction and tender.
The government has full control over the timing,
location, and amount of land to be leased, in part
a factor behind the city’s high land prices. The lack
of horizontal space combined with high land prices
have led to vertical city development; 38 of the
world’s 100 tallest residential buildings are located
in Hong Kong. There are more than 7,600 tall
buildings, rising from 50 to 88 floors and heights
of above 200 meters; the tallest is 415 meters.
Hong Kong has more people living or working