Located by the South China Sea, the Port of Hong Kong is a deepwater seaport dominated by trade, raw materials, and passengers. The natural shelter of Victoria Harbor makes the Port of Hong Kong one of the busiest ports in the world for commercial shipping and tourism. In 2001, more than 37,000 ships arrived in the Port of Hong Kong.
Port History
Archaeologists found settlements in the Hong Kong area dating back some 30,000 years, but few written records exists until it became a British Colony. The Port of Hong Kong was brought into China in about 200 BC. It was a major pearl hunting harbor from the Han Dynasty (10th Century) to the Ming Dynasty (17th Century).
In the early 1800s, the Opium Wars ended in British victory over China and the cession of the Port of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom. After territorial settlement, the Port of Hong Kong became an international financial powerhouse with the establishment of the first large scale bank.
Japan occupied the city from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. When the Communists took over the China mainland in 1949, the Port of Honk Kong had another population boom. From the 1950s to 1997, refugees brought skills and capital to the area, creating a huge pool of cheap labor that revived the economy. In the 1970s, the opening of mainland China’s market led to the Port of Hong Kong’s position as a tourism and commercial center for all of Southeast Asia.
Port Commerce
In 1997, the British left Hong Kong, and it once again became part of mainland China. The Port of Hong Kong is a major world center for ship ownership and management. In 2001, 653 ships were registered there with almost 14 million tons. The Port of Hong Kong is considered one of the most economically free ports in the world.
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