Until recently history books began the story of Hong Kong with the British colonial presence. However,the area has been inhabited for millennia. Recently a 5,000 year-old,kiln was unearthed on Lantau and rock carvings from Neolithic timescan be found on several sites.
During the Han Dynasty, around 2,000 years ago, China claimed Hong Kong and its hinterland. Probably during the 14th Century the Cantonese settled here, followed closely by the Hakka people. Many modern Hong Kong people still pay rent to descendants of the dominant settler families of those times, known as the "Five Great Clans".
Some of the earliest written references to Hong Kong foreshadow its destiny as an economic centre. Imperial records state that troops were garrisoned at Tuen Mun and Tai Po -- now major New Territories town developments-- in order to guard the pearls which were harvested from Tolo harbour by aboriginal Tanka divers.
By the 17th Century the region was a bastion of rebellion and piracy. To isolate and starve out the miscreants, the ruling Manchus ordered the area to be evacuated. Eventually the order was rescinded, and new settlers descended upon the territory.
Evidence of Hong Kong's early period can be found today in its fishing communities and its small villages, many of which are still protected by defensive walls, moats,and gatehouses.
The coming of the British marked Hong Kong's emergence in world affairs. In the early 19th Century British traders were making a fortune in the opium trade, exchanging the infamous commodity for China's silver, silk, tea and spices. Eventually the Chinese Imperial Government, worried about the drug's effects on its population, sought to ban the import of opium. Britain, however, wanted to strengthen its foothold with its own port, free of Imperial control. This led to the Opium Wars (1840-1842). Queen Victoria's gunboats prevailed, and Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. Sir Henry Pottinger was its first governor.
It has a whole day and half day tour for tourists. A whole day tour include a ride on the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, an optional sampan ride in the typhoon shelter, visit to a jewellery factory and Stanley market for bargain shopping. A Chinese dim sum lunch is offered in Aberdeen's famous floating restaurants, after which a subsequent visit is made to the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware.
Enjoy this half-day encounter of the unique cultural heritage of Hong Kong in a sensational way. Highlights of the tour include
Also, we have a nature tour a mei Po wetland and see dolphinwatch tour for those tourists who like to see nature animals.