Real Estate Deals

I'm sure many would agree with me that Hong Kong has one of the most interesting histories of a city. What we know as Hong Kong today was, in essence, 'spoils' presented to the Brits for winning the First Opium War in 1842. In other words, when China's Qing Dynasty lost the war, it gave Hong Kong Island over to Britain as payment.

About 50 years later, Britain wanted to increase its territory around Hong Kong Island (by approximately 12 times) because of population pressures and its importance as a sea and trading port. The Chinese agreed to lease added territory to Britain for $1 over a 99 year period in 1898. Why? Because after the 99 year term contract, Britain would then be required to give back all territory to China -- including Hong Kong Island!

The added territory takeover that was to happen in 1898 did not sit well with some of the established family clans near Hong Kong so some concessions were made (see post).

As the 99 year lease was about to end, an added agreement was made in 1984 between Britain and China specifying that China would not tamper with Hong Kong for an additional 50 years after 1997. As a result, life has seemed pretty-much "as usual" for the last 20 years (1997-2017) for those living in and visiting Hong Kong.

We will see the fate of this territory when the next 30 years draws to a close. Will the currency still be in Hong Kong dollars? Will we need a Chinese visa to visit Hong Kong in the future? Will the main language change from Cantonese to Mandarin? ...no one knows...

Behind the Scenes

In the meantime, one of my tour guides was candid about what it's like to live in current-day Hong Kong. Not many guides share at this personal level, so I felt especially fortunate to learn what it's like to live in the city from the perspective of a resident!

It is obvious those who live here are proud of where they live, stating emphatically they are not from China. The fact that a person needs a visa to enter China from Hong Kong, along with differences in government, currency and language are but a few examples of why Hong Kong is unique and unto its own.

It was not a surprise to learn that Hong Kong is an expensive place to live. But it was surprising to learn that nearly one half of the population lives in some form of government public housing so these lower income residents can survive.

Some visitors may flippantly refer to these towering apartment complexes as "pigeon holes" but, as our guide explained, these small living spaces enable so many people the opportunity to live in the city. Rule of thumb: when you look at government high-rises, you can estimate how many families live in each building because typically one window = one family unit.

Even with its crowded conditions, roughly 150 people come from China to Hong Kong per day to obtain residency. It's a long process that can take up to 7 years to finalize.