Location and natural features
Where are they? Both sit on the south coast of China, at the mouth of the Pearl River, facing the South China Sea. Hong Kong is on the east side of the river mouth. Macao is on the west side, about 60 km away.
Hong Kong land
- Area is about 1,100 square km, but most of it is hills. Flat land is rare, so towns are built tall and close together.
- It has Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula, the New Territories and more than 200 small islands.
- The sea between the island and Kowloon is a deep natural harbour. Deep water lets big ships come close to land.
- Climate: warm, wet summers and mild, drier winters. Typhoons (strong tropical storms) can hit in summer and autumn.
Macao land
- Area is only about 33 square km: a peninsula and two islands (Taipa and Coloane) that are now joined by land made from the sea.
- It is one of the most crowded places on Earth.
- Climate is the same warm, wet and typhoon-visited type.
Economy
Neither place has farms or mines to speak of. They earn from services (work that helps people and firms, not growing or making things).
Hong Kong
- Finance: banks, a stock market and insurance. Firms from many countries have offices here.
- Trade and shipping: one of the busiest container ports in the world. It is a free port: goods pass through with very few taxes.
- Logistics, tourism and shopping.
- Money used: the Hong Kong dollar.
Macao
- Tourism is the main earner: hotels, resorts, shows and gaming.
- Old streets and buildings from its Portuguese past are a World Heritage Site and attract visitors.
- Money used: the pataca.
Both depend on visitors and trade, so they grow when the world economy is good and shrink when it is not.
Special Administrative Regions
Hong Kong came back under Chinese rule on 1 July 1997 (from the United Kingdom). Macao came back on 20 December 1999 (from Portugal). Each became a Special Administrative Region (SAR).
The idea is called one country, two systems: they are part of China, but keep their own money, laws for daily life and economic system, under a basic law for each region. China looks after defence and foreign affairs.
Links with the mainland
- Road: the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (opened 2018) is about 55 km long with an undersea tunnel part. It joins the three places.
- Rail: a high-speed train runs from Hong Kong to many mainland cities.
- Water: Hong Kong has few rivers, so it buys a large share of its fresh water from a river in the mainland province next door.
- Trade and work: mainland factories ship goods through Hong Kong. Banks in Hong Kong lend money to mainland firms. Many people cross the border to work, study and shop.
- Greater Bay Area: a plan to link Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities of the nearby province into one busy economic region.
Try it: compare two places
- Hong Kong is about 1,100 square km; Macao about 33. Divide: how many Macaos fit in Hong Kong? (About 33.)
- Look at your own city on any relief map. Is it near a river mouth? Which ports or bridges link it to nearby cities?
- Draw a table: place, area, main earner, two links. Fill it for Hong Kong and Macao, then for a city in your state.
Key formulas and definitions
- SAR: Special Administrative Region, a part of China with its own money and daily-life laws
- One country, two systems: one state, two different systems of running the economy and law
- Harbour: sheltered deep water where ships can stop safely
- Services: work that helps people and firms (banking, trade, tourism)
- Free port: a port with very few taxes on goods passing through
- Typhoon: a strong tropical storm of the western Pacific
- Area: Hong Kong about 1,100 sq km; Macao about 33 sq km
Worked examples
1. Why are Hong Kong buildings tall and close together?
Most of the land is steep hills, so flat land is rare and costly. People build upwards to fit many homes and offices into the small flat area.
2. Why is a deep harbour useful for the economy?
Big container ships need deep water. A deep natural harbour lets them dock without costly digging, so trade and shipping become cheap and fast. That is why shipping is a main earner.
3. Macao is 33 sq km and has about 680,000 people. Roughly how many people live on each sq km?
680,000 ÷ 33 is about 20,600 people per sq km. That is why Macao is called one of the most crowded places on Earth.
Common mistakes
- Thinking Hong Kong and Macao are the same place. They are two separate SARs with different histories and different main earners.
- Thinking they earn from farming or mining. Their main earners are services: finance, trade and shipping (Hong Kong), tourism (Macao).
- Mixing up the order: Hong Kong is east of the river mouth and Macao is west.
- Thinking SAR means a separate country. A SAR is part of China with its own money and daily-life laws.