Hong Kong

"Hong Kong" means "fragrant harbour" in Cantonese. Although part of China, Hong Kong operates as a Special Administrative Region under the slogan "One Country, Two Systems" with a high degree of autonomy, retaining most laws and government structures from colonial times.

Visa requirements, laws, currency, culture and language have a heritage from the time of British rule, so for most tourists Hong Kong feels like a different country. Hong Kong enjoyed many Western-style freedoms and many locals were proud of it.

thumb|450px|Visa policy of Hong Kong Hong Kong maintains a separate immigration system from that of Mainland China. Citizens of most Western countries do not need a visa to visit Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong visa can be applied for at a Chinese diplomatic mission, but must be done so separately from the Mainland Chinese one; there is no single visa that serves both areas. A visa is required to enter Mainland China from Hong Kong and vice versa.

Hong Kong has an excellent and cheap public transport system. Unlike in mainland China, Google Maps can be used in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has the world's highest use of public transport, with over 90% preferring the mode. The most convenient way to pay for this is the Octopus card, discussed below.

Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world, with a large high-density population with diverse socio-economic backgrounds managed very effectively. The city experienced significant large-scale protests against new legislation with increasingly violent clashes with police between 2014 and 2019.

The arbitrariness and broad applicability of the National Security Law imposed by China in 2020 has ended most public protest. Even female travellers usually do not encounter any problems roaming the streets alone at night.