Whether you’re a newbie or an old hand, you’ll discover plenty of twists and turns in our Hong Kong trivia challenge. See how many questions you can answer correctly out of 50.
#1 Is the population of Hong Kong closer to 6 million or 8 million people?
#2 Which of Hong Kong’s islands is often described as being shaped like a dumbbell?
#3 Which of the city’s hotels is referred to as the “grand old lady”?
#4 Which month of 2020 saw the first recorded case of COVID-19 in Hong Kong: January, February or March?
#5 The Central-Mid-Levels Escalator covers a distance of approximately 800m, 1.1km or 1.45km?
#6 How did the Soho area get its name?
#7 Which of these items is not considered a “taboo” gift in Hong Kong: umbrella, fountain pen, green hat, handkerchief?
#8 What popular Hong Kong sporting event was first held in 1976?
#9 Bruce Lee’s final completed performance prior to his death was in which 1973 film?
#10 What is the official flower of Hong Kong?
#11 What colour are New Territories taxis?
#12 Which started operating first, the Peak Tram or the Star Ferry?
#13 What does Kowloon mean in English?
#14 In 1996 at Atlanta, athlete Lee Lai-Shan won Hong Kong’s only ever Olympic Games gold medal. What aquatic sport did she compete in?
#15 How old is the famous Duk Ling junk, 39, 65 or 118 years?
#16 What is the symbol of the Hong Kong Tourist Board?
#17 Which common Hong Kong item features a Möbius strip as its logo?
#18 What shape are the unique rock pillars of Hong Kong’s Geopark?
#19 Hong Kong is said to be the city with the highest number of which type of car, per capita?
#20 Pui Pui is the name of what type of “celebrity” animal at Hong Kong Wetland Park?
#21 Which road, whose name consists of two English words, runs from Kowloon almost as far as the Shenzhen border, and is Hong Kong’s longest (51.5km)?
#22 Rank these islands in order of size of population, from biggest to smallest: Lamma, Lantau, Cheng Chau.
#23 Which popular food in Hong Kong translates to “touch the heart”?
#24 How many different tones are there in Cantonese?
#25 What was the name of the most recent “Signal 10” typhoon to hit Hong Kong? (Hint: It was in 2018.)
#26 How many steps lead up to the Big Buddha on Lantau, 268, 911 or 10,000?
#27 Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning film The Departed (2007) was a remake of which famous Hong Kong film from 2002?
#28 Match each attraction either with Ocean Park or Disneyland: Mystic Manor, Mine Train, Raging River, Orbitron.
#29 Apron Cake and Dirty Lama are anagrams of which two MTR stations? (Hint: they come one after the other on the same MTR line.)
#30 Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares is thought to have been the first European to set foot in Hong Kong. In which century?
#31 What is the most expensive property on the Hong Kong monopoly board?
#32 Double-decker trams began operating on Hong Kong’s streets in which year: 1904, 1931 or 1955?
#33 The Noonday Gun, fired at midday each day in Causeway Bay, was the inspiration for which famous line by playwright Noël Coward
#34 How many athletes did Hong Kong send to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea?
#35 Tower 2 of IFC has what unusual feature? (Hint: it helps shoppers get around.)
#36 Hong Kong’s lowest recorded temperature on record is: 4.8; exactly zero; or minus 2.7 degrees Celsius?
#37 What food is commonly eaten around the Dragon Boat Festival?
#38 Who are the current reigning champions of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens?
#39 Approximately how many blue Lantau taxis are in operation, 75, 195 or 245?
#40 What is the name of Hong Kong’s richest person?
#41 Only one chunk of the old Kowloon railway station remains, and it’s now a prominent monument in TST. What is it?
#42 Who was the last Governor of Hong Kong?
#43 Tai Mo Shan is Hong Kong’s highest peak, and also the highest coastal peak in all of Southern China. Is it 957, 1,131 or 2,006 metres high?
#44 How many petals are on the Hong Kong flag? (We’ve given you a very obvious clue!)
45 Hong Kong consists of approximately how many islands, 14, 81 or 263?
#46 The name of which thre eword Hong Kong district means “sharp, sandy point”?
#47 A typical dragon boat has 20 paddlers, and two other crew members who do what two jobs?
#48 What kid-friendly name is Tai Yuen Street also known as?
#49 In 2011, Hong Kong’s McDonald’s restaurants became the first in the world to offer what kind of special service?
#50 True or false: Hong Kong has more skyscrapers (buildings above 150m in height) than any other world city.
Scroll down for the answers… no cheating!
All the answers!
1. Eight million
2. Cheung Chau
3. The Peninsula Hong Kong
4. January 2020
5. 800 metres
6. SOuth of HOllywood Road
7. Fountain pen
8. Hong Kong Rugby Sevens
9. 10. Bauhinia
11. Green
12. The Star Ferry started in 1880, eight years Enter the Dragon before the Peak Tram in 1888
13. “Nine dragons”
14. Windsurfing
15. 65 (built in Macau , an authentic restored Chinese junk that we mentioned in the Duk Ling in 1955)
16. The previous question!
17. Octopus card
18. Hexagonal
19. Rolls-Royce
20. Crocodile
21. Castle Peak Road
22. Lantau, Cheng Chau, Lamma
23. Dim sum
24. Nine
25. Mangkhut , starring Tony Leung and Anthony Wong
28. Disneyland, Internal Affairs
26. 268
27. Ocean Park, Ocean Park, Disneyland
29. Ocean Park and Admiralty
30. The 16th (1513)
31. The Peak
32. 1904
33. “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”
34. One – alpine skier Arabella Ng
35. Double-decker elevators
36. 0.0 (on 18 January 1893, the temperature got down to exactly zero)
37. Zongzi
38. Fiji; they defeated France 21-7 in the 2019 final, and the 2020 tournament was cancelled
39. 75 40. Lee Shau-Kee (for many years it was Li-Ka Shing, net worth around HK$250 billion, but in 2020 he lost top spot)
41. The clock tower
42. Chris Patten
43. 957 metres
44. Five
45. 263
46. Tsim Sha Tsui
47. Drummer to keep paddlers in rhythm, and steerer (or sweep, helm, cox) to steer the boat
48. Toy Street
49. Weddings
50. True (Shenzhen is second, and New York third)
This article first appeared in the City Guide 2020 issue of Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue.
