Last stop, a week in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a special part of China. It is made up of islands and parts of the mainland bordering The South China Sea and The Pearl River delta. It has a total area smaller than the Isle of Wight but has a population of nearly 8 million people. China as a whole has a population of 1.6 billion people, the most populated country in the world. About 1 person in every 5 in the world is Chinese. Hong Kong is an important trading centre as it has a huge harbour. The British fought wars with China over the right to trade and gained Hong Kong and parts of the mainland for 100 years. It was given back to China in 1997 but still has a special status in China with some different laws to the rest of the country. Hong Kong itself is an island, it faces Kowloon and The New territories on the mainland. There are other smaller islands like Landau where the airport is linked to Kowloon by a huge bridge. A road and rail tunnel links Kowloon to Hong Hong Island. The whole region is quite hilly so building space is scarce, Most people live and work in huge skyscrapers linked by pedestrian walkways. Ferries link different parts of Hong Kong and there are services to other parts of China, it is a cheap, easy way to get around the city with wonderful views of the harbour. There is a funicular railway up to the highest point of the island, the peak, with wonderful views of the city and harbour. There are special markets in different parts of the city. Bird, flower and goldfish markets are very busy with people buying small things to brighten their tiny flats. There are plenty of lovely parks where people  meet  and walk as few have gardens.
At noon everyday a gun is fired so people can check their watches! This was very important when sailing ships depended on correct time recording to find out where they were when at sea.

The harbour and Kowloon from the peak.

Yum yum, duck!

Not quite so yum yum, snakes,  and eels.

The bird market - pets not food.

The goldfish market, good pets in a small flat.

My cousin - Panda.

Sunday lunch special - roast croc head!

Receiving a gift from a primary school in Hong Kong.

Photos with the bear at the zoo.

Lots of fuss at the kindergarten.

A pagoda in a buddhist temple.

The noonday gun in Hong Kong - very loud!

A traditional junk in the harbour

We went on a day tour of mainland China, having to go through immigration as if we were visiting a different country. We visited 2 large cities, both nearly as big as Hong Kong, Sechou and Guanzhou. In Sechou the children in a local Kindergarten school mobbed the bear jumping up and down with excitement. They all learn English and at the end of the visit could all say bear! We visited the zoo in Guanzhou and saw Scoler's cousin, a Panda. There were 2 pandas in the zoo. They are only found  in the wild in China and face extinction as they are not very sociable and their natural habitat is disappearing. Scoler was mobbed again by school children visiting the zoo and they all wanted a photo with him! In a traditional street market we saw live eels, snakes, turtles, tortoises, frogs and toads. All of these are delicacies, special treat meals, together with crocodile heads!  We visited a buddhist temple with a pagoda in the grounds. There are many religions in china and lots of churches and temples.