20 fun facts about Hong Kong

(VNF) - On ocassion of the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China, let's discover 20 fun facts about Hong Kong.

1. When Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997, only a quarter of the population can speak Mandarin Chinese. Most of them spoke Cantonese - a dialect originates from Guangdong province, South China.

3. The name of the famous district Kowloon in Hong Kong is the spelling of the word "nine dragons" in Cantonese. Folklore says that when a young emperor noticed the area’s eight hills, he named the land “eight dragons,” until his servant pointed out that the emperor should be considered a dragon too, so the number became 9.

4. At a little more than 420 square miles, Hong Kong is about six times the size of Washington, D.C.

Hong Kong has the most skycrapers in the world (source: whitecase.com)

5. Hong Kong may be famous for its towering skyscrapers but 40 percent of the territory is actually country park and nature reserve. Hiking the green trails is a favourite weekend activity of local people.

6. Egg tarts and pineapple buns are must-try local specials at the bakery in Hong Kong.

7. Cathay Pacific is Hong Kong’s home airline and has won “World’s Best Airline” four times – more than any other.

8. At 1,377m, Tsing Ma bridge of Hong Kong is the world’s longest bridge with functioning motorway and railway.

9. The Peak Tram in Hong Kong was put into use in 1888 and was Asia’s first funicular railway. It remains one of the oldest – and steepest – tramways in the world.

10. Hong Kong has the most skyscrapers (classified as building with more than 14 floors) in the world; double that of its nearest rival: New York City.

11. The emblem of the reunification of Hong Kong with China is Sousa Chinensis (the Chinese White Dolphin)

12. Eating noodles on one’s birthday is considered by the residents of Hong Kong to afford one a long and blessed life.

13. There are 263 islands in Hong Kong, however, some of them are inhabitable or unreachable.

14. The third Disney theme park outside the United States was opened in Hong Kong in the year 2005.

15. Hong Kong International Airport is the size of 20 football fields combined.

16. Nearly 80% of the population in Hong Kong is now supplied with seawater for toilet flushing.

17. The 'father of fibre optic communications' and winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics is Professor Charles Kao from Hong Kong.

18 It was one of the stops in French writer Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days" published in 1873.

19. Most of sign board in Hong Kong are written in Chinese and English

20. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was ranked #1 in Asia in Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2017./.