Having spent time in Hong Kong, we made a day trip to the New Territories, which is part of mainland China. Walking among skyscrapers and about 7.5 million people, it is sometimes hard to remember that you are on a relatively small island. In fact, Hong Kong’s airport is on a separate island, Lantau Island, but the two are connected by roads and train almost seamlessly.
There are more, smaller islands in the South China Sea and we took the ferry to Cheung Chau island, where pirates once roamed.
We’re lucky that a friend who lives in Hong Kong, has lend us his condo. Housing is hard to find and expensive in this mass of people: 7.5 million live in this special Administrative Region of China, which measures a mere 1,110 km² (429 mi²). It’s different from mainland China: no need to apply for a visa ahead of time and much easier to enter. Hong Kong is made up of over 260 islands. The major cities are Hong Kong and Kowloon. Most people live vertically: in the many skyscrapers that make up HK’s concrete jungle.
