Publisher's Synopsis
The History of Hong Kong, a coastal island located off the southern coast of China, began with its incorporation into the erstwhile Chinese empire during the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC). While archaeological findings dating back thousands of years show pockets of settlements in the region, regular written records were not kept until China's Qing dynasty (1644-1911) first came into contact with the nascent British Colony during the early 19th century. Starting out as a fishing village, salt production site and trading ground, it later evolved into a military port of strategic importance and eventually an international financial centre that as of 2004 had the world's sixth highest GDP (PPP) per capita, supporting 33% of foreign capital flows into China.
