One Day in Hong Kong Trivia Quiz

Answer: Two islands were levelled to make an artificial flat island suitable for airport construction

Kai Tak Airport was opened in the mainland portion of Hong Kong in 1925. It became surrounded by dense urban development. There was only a single runway which had to be extended into the sea to cope with larger airliners but with a single runway, capacity was reached by the 1970s.

There was a lack of flat land available despite a large undeveloped component to Hong Kong. The new Hong Kong International Airport was built between 1991-8 on a large artificial island formed by flattening and then levelling Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau islands to reclaim 9.4 square kilometres of the seabed next to Landau Island.

The new airport is 38 km from Central on Hong Kong Island but only 20 minutes by connecting high speed train.

Answer: Kowloon

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China since it was handed back from the United Kingdom in 1997. It had been a British possession since the Second Opium War in 1842 (except for a brief interval in WWII when it was occupied by the Japanese).

Hong Kong consists of three geographical regions, divided by their historical time of acquisition by the United Kingdom: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.

Hong Kong Island is the main financial centre which occupies the northern aspect of the island. In 2008 the census population was 1.26 million people. There is a mountainous region running east-west across the island and on the far less densely populated southern side, it is possible to see small seaside villages.

Kowloon is a mere 47 square kilometre section of the mainland and a 2006 population of 2,019,533 and a population density of 43,033/km2 makes it one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

The area above Boundary St Kowloon was ceded from China to Great Britain in 1898 at the latter's insistence, in part to thwart any encroachment of other European powers in China at the time. This became the New Territories. Whilst this gave the British colony a buffer of land between the British and other Europeans, the population of Hong Kong soared after WWII, so new towns were developed in this part of Hong Kong to cope with the overflow. The New territories also encompass the islands alongside Hong Kong Island and comprise over 86% of Hong Kong's land mass. The 2011 population of this region was 3.6 million which comprised over 52% of Hong Kong's population in 2011.

Answer: Temple Street Night Market

There are many Chinatowns in the world today, all with excellent Cantonese food, but they tend to be outside of China. Newton Circus and Ameya Yokocho are also great street food centres (personal recommendation) but are in Singapore and Tokyo respectively. Temple Street Night Market has superlative street food. Operating between 6-11 pm every night, you have to jostle to get to some stalls called Dai Pai Dongs. Highly recommended are steamed fish (usually grouper which is steamed rapidly with only ginger and scallion, then served with a sluice of hot oil mixed with light soy sauce) and dumplings of any kind, boiled then crisped by frying.

Answer: Star Ferry

"The World of Suzy Wong" was a 1960 American film which featured many Hong Kong locales including a pivotal scene on the Star Ferry. Since then the Star Ferry has been both a tourist attraction for Westerners and a cheap form of transport for residents. Crossing the harbour from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon and back since 1888, National Geographic rates the Star Ferry crossing as one of 50 'places of a lifetime'. Victoria Harbour is now crossed by a world leading infrastructure system of road and rail tunnels.

The ferry terminal on the Hong Kong Island is right in the middle of Central, the main financial district.

Answer: Tallest building in Hong Kong when opened in 2010 but it is on the Kowloon side

While there are skyscrapers built on both the Kowloon and the Hong Kong Island side of the harbour, the Kowloon skyscrapers tend to be on the shorter side because of the flight path of Kai tak Airport which was right in the middle of Kowloon. This was no longer a factor after 1998 when the airport shifted to the outer islands.

The International Commerce Centre was the fourth largest building in the world when built in 2010 and the tallest in Hong Kong. The top eight floors of this 108 story building (1588 feet) are a hotel but there is a public observation deck on the 100th floor. (Mental note - If time, go there). Urban space is at a premium in Hong Kong so this building is actually built on top of a Metro station.

The distinct-looking Bank of China Tower across the harbour was the first building outside the US to pass the 305 m (1,001 ft) mark in 1992 but became the fourth tallest in Hong Kong when the ICC was finished.

Answer: True

In an audit of Skyscrapers conducted in 2017, Hong Kong had 317 skyscrapers compared with 257 in New York City (skyscrapers being defined as at least 150 metres (490 ft) tall or higher). Hong Kong also had over 2700 buildings over 100 metres tall in 2017, double the amount from the next largest, Shanghai and more than three times the amount in New York City with 780.

Hong Kong has become a major global "city" particularly as a financial centre due to its strategic geographical location in Asia, simple taxation scheme and a laissez-faire approach from its government to trade. Couple this with a shortage of land to build on, the only way was up.

Answer: The Peak

The Peak, officially Victoria Peak, is Hong Kong island's highest mountain with an elevation of 552 m (1,811 ft). The summit itself is off limits as it contains a telecommunications centre but nearby is a lookout best accessed by funicular tram from the Lower Terminus in Central. For me, there is just time to take the 3.5-kilometre Peak Circle Walk to get an eye full of Hong Kong from every angle.

The houses around this area are in one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods since colonial times. In pre-air conditioning times, it was the cooler air that attracted the rich and famous,

[The other three options are observation towers in Shanghai, Sydney and Auckland].

Answer: Stanley

Stanley is on the southern tip of Hong Kong Island. There is only one narrow twisty road through the mountains to get there or you can basically circumnavigate the coastal road around from Central the long way around to get there. Even though it's small, there are plenty of things to do in Stanley.

There are numerous waterfront cafes, bars and restaurants, and behind Murray House, a major colonial landmark, is Ma Hang Park, a 50,000 square metre butterfly garden with bird-watching platforms. And if you haven't had enough of shopping by now, Stanley Market is a tourist mecca for souvenirs. Me? I just want to escape from the full on teeming human activity, slow down a little and enjoy a swim at the Stanley Beach.

Answer: Take in the magnificant views of Hong Kong Island

A walk along the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade takes you past the colonial-era Clock Tower, one of the few remaining examples of British colonial architecture in Hong Kong, past the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the Hong Kong Space Museum, both of which demand time you haven't got, your eyes will gravitate to the dramatic architectural spectacle of the Hong Kong Island skyline towering over Victoria Harbour.
Ocean Park Hong Kong and Golden Bauhinia Square are worth seeing but you left them behind on Hong Kong Island.

Answer: The Big Buddha

The remote Po Lin Monastery, hidden away by lush mountains, but ironically close to the airport, became a popular attraction when the Tian Tan Buddha statue (informally known as the Big Buddha) was erected in 1993. It is 34 metres high and faces north to look over the China.

This bronze Buddha statue draws pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. The statue took 12 years to complete. One of the reasons I wanted to go was I ran up the 72 steps of the Museum of Art in Philadelphia (a la Rocky).

At the top besides the Buddha are sweeping mountain and sea views. Plus it's a lot quieter than the main Hong Kong areas and you can catch a cable car to get there.