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Asia Hong Kong

Guide to Hong Kong ancestry, family history and genealogy parish registers, transcripts, census records, bir Hong Kong Victoriath records, marriage records, and death records.



Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour") is an autonomous region on the southern coast of China and is geographically bounded by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea.

What is now known as Hong Kong was incorporated into China during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), and the area was firmly consolidated as part of China under Nanyue (203 BC – 111 BC.) Archaeological evidence suggests that the population started increasing during Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) and has continued to date.

Its harbor, Victoria harbor, is one of the best natural harbors in the world, and was particularly suited to the trading requirements of wind driven vessels.

Following what became known as the Opium Wars, Hong Kong Island and the outlying islands, as well as the Kowloon Peninsula as far north as Boundary Street, were ceded in perpetuity to Great Britain. Later the New Territories from Boundary Street to the Mainland Border were leased to great Britain on a 100 year lease.

Hong Kong's population is 93.6% ethnic Chinese and 6.4% from other groups. These other groups include Indians, and a large group of expatriate Westerners. Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originated primarily from the neighboring Guangdong province, from which many Mainland Chinese fled to escape wars and communist rule in mainland China from the 1930s to 1960s. At that time, after the cessation of hostilities from WWII, the border between the New Territories and Mainland China was famously porous. Millions fled to Hong Kong for freedom.

As a result of ongoing negotiations between, and the 1984 agreement between China and Britain, Hong Kong was handed over to the People's Republic of China and became China's first Special Administrative Region on 1 July 1997 under the principle of "one country, two systems". However the actual implementation of this principle has been fraught with problems, with the two sides having differing opinions as to what is meant by democratic freedom.

The roots of Hong Kong’s legal system can be traced back to the English legal system and it has evolved over the years. Hong Kong's sources of law are derived from the residual British system, augmented by legislation, subsidiary legislation (e.g. Rules and Regulations etc) and judge-made law.

Hong Kong is one of the major business and banking centers of the world, and acts as a financial bridge between Mainland China and the West. As such, it is also one of the 5 top trans-shipping ports in the world.

Getting started with Hong Kong research
Special administrative region at the southeastern edge of China on the South China Sea. See the CIA World Factbook at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/hk.html.

History of Hong Kong Timeline

Hong Kong Chinese residents also kept genealogy books. Further information on this subject can be found at the following web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy_book

Jurisdictions
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Research Tools
The following website provides access to the Hong Kong Government official records: http://www.researchhongkong.org.uk/hong-kong-vital-records/hong-kong-birth-marriage-death-certificates


 * ChinaGenWeb
 * BYU Research Guide for Hong Kong
 * BYU Research Guide for East Asian Researchers

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