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Here is our contribution to the international
email project, prepared by English Society members of F.D.B.W.A. Szeto
Ho Secondary School, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
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Our school's website is:
www.szetoho.edu.hk If you can read Chinese, then you can find a link to our English Society's homepage. We decided to organize our facts
into 5 categories - history, festivals and culture, nature, entertainment
and interesting sights. The interesting sites will be sent in another
document. |
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History and Geography
1842 Hong Kong island became a British colony
as a result of China's defeat in the |
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1860 Kowloon peninsula was given
to the British as a result of the 2nd
Opium War (1858 - 60) 1895 The New Territories were passed over to the British on a 99 year lease. 1984 A Joint Declaration between China and Britain was made in which it was recognized that the colony was dependent on mainland China for its resources (water etc) and it was agreed to revert the colony (HK island, Kowloon and the New Territories) to China at midnight on 30/6/97. 1997 Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, handed the colony Back over to China. 2004 Legco elections held in which HK residents voted for the first legislative Council. |
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Festivals
and Culture
Chinese festivals are usually very colourful and noisy due to fireworks and the clashing of cymbals and the banging of drums. The festivals are celebrated according to the Chinese Lunar calendar, which is below. |
Did you know ……
That this year , some road workers in busy Mongkok unearthed some pots that were over 2,000 years old? According to an archeologist, it is possible that the posts were used to keep food in a burial ground. Obviously the timeline above is just the tip of a very large iceberg as Hong Kong's history stretches back thousands of years. |
| Lunar month | Festival | Lunar Dates | Western dates, 2005 |
| 1st moon | Chinese New Year Birthday of Che Kung Spring Lantern festival |
Day 1 2 Day 15 |
9th Feb 2005 10th Feb 23rd Feb |
| 3rd moon | Ching Ming Tin Hau, Sea Goddess |
Day 23 | 5th April 1st May |
| 4th moon | Cheung Chau Buddha's Birthday Tam Kung |
15th May 15th May 15th May |
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| 5th moon | Dragon Boat festival | Day 5 | 11th June |
| 6th moon | Kwan Tai | Day 24 | 29th July |
| 7th moon | Seven Sisters festival Hungry Ghost festival |
Day 7 Day 15 |
11th August 19th August |
| 8th moon | Mid-Autumn festival Monkey God festival Confucius' birthday |
Day 15
Day 27 |
18th September 19th September 30th September |
| 9th moon | Chun Yeung festival |
Day 9 | 11th October |
| 11th moon | Dong Zhi winter Solstice |
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Did you know that the students in Hong Kong have
91 days of holidays to celebrate Chinese festivals, Christmas, Easter
and summer, and 163 school days for the academic year 2004-2005?
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To find out more about these festivals,
we suggest you visit
www.discoverhongkong.com which is the tourist site. Please go to "heritage" and then to "festivals". |
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Nature
When people think of Hong Kong, they usually think that it is very crowded. This is true, but only in a small area of Hong Kong island and Kowloon. The population is very dense in these parts. However, 40% of Hong Kong is protected countryside, and there are many wonderful walks that you can take. Hiking is a popular hobby, and every weekend you can take a trail up into the hills and escape the busy city life |
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Did you know that you can go dolphin - watching near
Lantau Island? These wild pink dolphins are pink when they mature. They
are actually born grey or grey and white. Unfortunately, the numbers
of dolphins has been declining, and there are societies which seek protection
for them because their environment is shrinking and getting more polluted.
We suggest you visit these websites to know more: www.hkdolphinwatch.com and www.kgv.edu.hk/eden/outreach/link-grouporg.html |
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Entertainment
Hong Kong is famous for its Canto-pop stars as well as international movie stars like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Lee Jun Fat. Here are some popular idols with Hong Kong teenagers: |
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Anthony Wong is a very popular singer in Hong Kong.
Many singers were taught by him. He likes to sing some old songs as
well as he will have a concert at the end of this year. In the old day,
he had one partner to sing a song with him but now he break up with
his partner and start to develop his personal career.
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Faye Wong she is the most famous female singer in Hong Kong. Her voice is very nice and she like singing in Cantonese, Putonghua and also English. She has an international image and she is popular in the world too. |
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Did you know that Jackie Chan's father was a cook
at the French Ambassador's mansion?
And when Jackie Chan was punished for being naughty at school, he had to stand holding a desk above his head? And that Bruce Lee died mysteriously at the age of 33 while he was filming? And that his son Brandon also died while filming "The Crow" when he was only 28 years old? |
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Moon Cakes
We just had our moon cake festival and lantern festival! Moon Cakes are a delicacy consumed during and around the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are often round or rectangular. They have a noodle-like dough on the outside, and the insides are usually filled with sweetmeats, bean paste, all sorts of nuts and duck egg yolks. Moon Cakes can be steamed, baked, or fried. The reason why they are called Moon Cakes is because they are shaped like the moon. |
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In Hong Kong, there are mainly two kinds of moon cakes---the traditional moon cakes and the snowy moon cakes. "yua yuan ren tuan yuan," literally: "When moon forms a circle, people unite." |
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(THE STORY OF MOON CAKES)
During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near ordered the making of special cakes. Baked into each mooncake was a secret message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival the rebels attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this event. |
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Dim sum is very popular, especially
at weekends when you can see whole families sitting around together
eating dim sum in the late morning and early afternoon.
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This is the most popular dim sum among Hong Kong people.
They are usually made of shrimp, pork and fish.
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