Hong Kong has long captured people’s imagination, with its unique mix of East and West, and modern and traditional. How long have you been living in Hong Kong and how well do you think you know the city? Here’s some quirky facts about the Fragrant Harbour which will have you sounding like an expert on the 852.
Trivia about the Fragrant Harbour
2 The average length, in centimetres, of the Romer’s tree frog, which is found only in Hong Kong
28 The number featured on the auspicious car plate that was purchased for HK$18.1 million in 2016
50 The percentage of the world’s population that lives within a five hour flight of Hong Kong
17 The number of official public holidays each year in Hong Kong, the highest in the world
19 The number of individual cigarettes (not packets) each traveller is allowed to bring through Hong Kong Customs
85 The approximate number of films that HK actress Maggie Cheung starred in between her debut in 1983 and her “retirement” in 2010
118 The floor number of the world’s highest swimming pool, located in The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong
156 The number of years that Hong Kong was under British rule (1842-1997)
250 The fine, in Hong Kong dollars, for riding a horse while inebriated in HK
115 The number of countries with consulates in Hong Kong, more than any other city on the planet
62 The number of years that 91-year-old Joe Sun Yungtsu had worked as a corporate salesperson in Hong Kong as of July 2017, a Guinness World Record
260 The approximate number of islands that make up Hong Kong, more than 100 of which are uninhabited
317 The number of skyscrapers above 150m in Hong Kong, more than any other city (New York is second with 257, then Dubai and Shanghai)
957 The height, in metres, of Hong Kong’s tallest peak, Tai Mo Shan or Big Hat Mountain
1958 The year in which local Hong Kong resident Bruce Lee – later of martial arts movie fame – won a city-wide cha-cha dance competition
80,000 The approximate number of hotel rooms in Hong Kong as of June 2018
2,238 The number of crystal lotuses decorating Disneyland Hotel’s Chinese restaurant (chosen because it sounds like “easily generates wealth” in Cantonese)
230,000 The approximate number of people who cross the checkpoint between Hong Kong and mainland China each day
46 Million The number of mainland tourists expected in Hong Kong this year; this is a tenfold increase since 2001 when 4.5 million mainlanders visited
270 million cubic metres of seawater supplied to flush Hong Kong toilets each year
See more in our Living in Hong Kong section:
The expat’s guide to where to live in Hong Kong
25 fun facts about living in Hong Kong
This article first appeared in the City Guide 2018 issue of Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue.
