was hong kong part of the british empire
British Hong Kong British Hong Kong was the period during which Hong Kong was under British colonial rule, from 1841 to 1997 (excluding the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945). Colonial rule began with the British occupation of Hong Kong Island on 26 January 1841 during the First Opium War (1839–1842). The island was ceded to the United Kingdom by the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842 and established as a Crown colony on 26 June 1843. It was later designated a British Dependent Territory in 1981. The Kowloon Peninsula was added to the colony after the Second Opium War (1856–1860). Finally, the New Territories were added under a 99-year lease in 1898. Although Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were ceded to Britain in perpetuity, the New Territories – which comprised over 90 per cent of Hong Kong's land – had such a vital role in the economy that the British government agreed to transfer sovereignty of the entirety of Hong Kong to China upon the expiration of the lease in 1997. The transfer has been considered by many as marking the end of the British Empire.
The empire on which the sun never sets In the modern era, due to the British Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands, the sun has not yet set on all British territories. [26]
Handover of Hong Kong The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong,[1][2][3] commonly known as the handover of Hong Kong (or simply "the Handover", also "the Return" in mainland China) was the transition of control over the former British colony of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. The returned territory comprised Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, which were respectively ceded to Britain in 1842 and 1860, as well as the New Territories, which were leased for 99 years from 1898. The transfer was arranged to coincide with the expiration of this lease on the previous day, 30 June 1997. This event marked the end of British rule in Hong Kong, and is regarded by some as the end of the British Empire.
Hong Kong Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory south to Mainland China and east to Macao in East Asia. With around 7.2 million Hong Kongers of various nationalities[note 2] in a territory of 1,104 km2, Hong Kong is the world's fourth most densely populated country or territory.