HONGKONG, 118ng'-lcOng", or HIAN KIANG, hein-keing (signifying "tlic place of sweet streams"), an island off the southeast coast of China, forming with Kau-lung on the mainland a British Crown colony and naval station. The island is on the east side of the estuary of the Chu-Kiang or Canton River, 90 miles south of Canton, and is separated from the mainland by the narrow Lyemun Strait. About 10 miles long and from two to five miles broad, the island is of rocky formation, attain ing in Victoria Peak a maximum altitude of 1,809 feet. Its area is rather more than 32 square miles. By the Convention of Pekin, signed 9 June 1898, China leased to Great Britain for 99 years a portion of her territoty, mainly agricultural, together with the waters of Mn, Bay and Deep Bay and the island of Lan Tao. Its area is 356 square miles, with about 91,000 inhabitants, exclusively Chinese. The area of old Kau-Lung is three square miles. The total area of this colony is 391 square miles.
The maximum temperature is 93° F. Rainfall is very heavy at certain sea sons and the humidity percentage is so great during certain months that the climate is very trying' to all except the native Chinese. De cember is the dry month of the year and is perhaps the most enjoyable month also. The European quarters have modern sanitation sys tems which ensure the community somewhat against the epidemics so frequent in this quarter of the world.
The government: educational institutions comprise Queen's average attendance 490 boys; mostly Chinese ; the• Kau Jung, Peak and Victoria schools, for childrin of both' sexes of British parentage, average attendance 60, 29 and 47, respectively; the Belilios Girls' School, average attendande 384; eight English schools for Chinese boys, average attendance 1,397; one English school for Indian boys, average attendance 51. There are 39 schools, mainly denominational, which are in receipt of government aid and are subject to government inspection, with an average attend ance of 3,500. The net cost of education amounts to about 235,000 (Hongkong currency) annually. There is a police school and about
360 unaided schools with offer 13,000 pupils. In 1906 a technical institute was founded. It is maintained by the local government and has over 500 students. Hongkong University was opened in March 1912, with faculties of arts, medicine and engineering. It has about 200 students at present.
Industry and Commence—The principal industries of the colony are cotton-spinning, sugar-refining, ship-building and repairing, rope making, the manufacture of cement, brewing and the manufacture of knitgoods. Deep-sea fishing is 'growing in importance. The com merce ts chiefly with Great Britain (about 50 per cent of bOth imports and exports), India, Australia and the United States. Hongkong is a free port extent as regards the importation of intoxicating liquor and tobacco and there are no official returns of trade, only mercantile estimates, according to which the im..rts aver age $20,000,000 and the exports $10,111,000. It is the great distributing port for South China and trades in nearly all kinds of goods. Among the principal are opium, sugar and flour, salt, earthenware, oil, amber, cotton and cotton goods, rice, sandalwood, coal, timber, hemp, kerosene, ivory, betel, live stock, granite, vege tables, etc. The tea and silk trade of China is largely controlled by Hongkong interests. In 1917 the colony exported goods to Great Britain valued at $7,284,035, and imported thence goods to the value of $15,355,245. Exports to the United States averaged about $3,000.000, arid imports from that country, $10,000,000. The latter compris•mostly flour, oil and cotton.
In 1916, 24,201 vessels aggregating 11,062,288 tons entered the harbor, and 24,151 vessels of 11,246,173 tons cleared. About 20,000 fishing and other craft frequent the harbor and bays of the colony. The harbor is one of the best in the world, having extensive docking facilities and modern machinery. The only danger is from typhoons, which at times have caused great destruction.