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Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially known as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a region on the southern coast of China geographically enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea.[8] Hong Kong is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour, and with a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of over seven million people, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.[9] Hong Kong's population is 93.6% ethnic Chinese and 6.4% from other groups.[4] Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originate mainly from the neighbouring Guangdong province,[10] from which many of them fled to escape wars and communist rule in mainland China from the 1930s to 1960s.[11][12][13][14]

Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Hong Kong Island was first ceded in perpetuity to Great Britain, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories were put under lease in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during The Second World War (1941–45), after which the British resumed control until 1997. The amalgam of British and Chinese culture during the colonial era shaped the current culture of Hong Kong. For example, the educational system followed the British model until 2009.

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