The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), a fomer British colony which was reunited with the People's Republic of China in 1997, welcomes millions of international travellers every year for business and tourism.
The HKSAR is part of the Pearl River Delta region, a rapidly interconnecting economic area on the southern coast of China that includes booming cities such as Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Guangzhou, and China's other SAR, Macau.
Plug TypeLanguageChinese (Cantonese, Mandarin) and EnglishPopulation6.8 millionTime ZoneGMT +8 hoursMeasuresMetric SystemVoltage200/220 voltsMobile PhonesGSM 900/PCS 1800/CDMAUnlike travel to Mainland China, travel to Hong Kong for visits of less than three months is visa-free for most nationalities. A passport is required. Note that separate entry requirements apply for travel from the HKSAR to Mainland China, and to the Macau SAR. The hotel provides guests with an express three-hour service for China visas.
Visa Requirements from the HKSAR Immigration DepartmentThe unit of money is the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD). Credit cards are accepted in major hotels as well as shopping malls. You may wish to purchase an Octopus card, a stored-value 'smart card' which is a popular and convenient way to pay transit fares and make small purchases.Here are the most recent exchange rates for some common currencies.HKD 1.00 equals:
.13
US Dollar (USD)
.15
Australian Dollar (AUD)
.09
Euro (EUR)
.07
British Pound (GBP)
5.62
Indian Rupee (INR)
13.89
Japanese Yen (JPY)
.18
New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
.18
Singapore Dollar (SGD)
There are no sales, duty or value-added taxes in Hong Kong.A 10% service charge is added to hotel and restaurant bills and additional tip is optional.
Bank Hours9am to 4.30pm, Monday through Friday, Saturday 9am to 12.30 or 1.30 pmOffice Hours9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, Saturday 9am to 1pmShop Hours10am to 7pm or 10pm every dayMedical services are at a high standard, though public hospitals can be crowded and private clinics may be quite expensive.
We recommend not drinking water from the tap. Complimentary bottled drinking water is available in every hotel room.
Light suits and dresses are appropriate for business. A light raincoat may be useful from mid-May to mid-September, the summer rainy season. A sweater is recommended for indoors, particularly in the summer months, when the air conditioning can be quite cold. Coats are occasionally necessary from December to February.Hong Kong has a subtropical climate with warm to hot, humid summers from May to September (25C to 29C, 77F to 84F), and a cooler season from December to February (14C to 20C, 57F to 68F). The typhoon season runs from July to September, when heavy rain can be expected.