Hong Kong History and Politics

Early and Colonial History

25 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

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Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 25 questions

  1. Which treaty of 1842 passed Hong Kong Island to Britain after the First Opium War?
  2. On what date was Hong Kong's sovereignty transferred to China?
  3. Which war, fought from 1839 to 1842, led to Britain taking Hong Kong Island?
  4. What does the name Hong Kong mean in Cantonese?
  5. What does the name Kowloon mean?
  6. Which Chinese commissioner ordered the destruction of opium chests at Humen in 1839?
  7. For how many years was the New Territories leased to Britain from 1898?
  8. In which year did Japanese forces capture Hong Kong?
  9. Which agreement of 1860 added the Kowloon Peninsula to British Hong Kong?
  10. In which year did Britain and China sign the Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong?
  11. Which naval officer, in January 1841, landed at Possession Point and took formal possession of Hong Kong Island for Britain?
  12. Which crowded walled enclave in Kowloon was cleared in the 1990s and replaced by a park?
  13. Which disaster of 1953 led to the first large public housing programme?
  14. In which year did the Peak Tram begin running up Victoria Peak?
  15. Which street transport, with double-decker cars on rails, began service on Hong Kong Island in 1904?
  16. Which university, the oldest in Hong Kong, was founded in 1911?
  17. In which year did the first line of the MTR, Hong Kong's metro, open?
  18. Where was the new airport that opened in 1998 and replaced Kai Tak built?
  19. Which institution, founded in 1883 in Tsim Sha Tsui, provides the territory's weather forecasts?
  20. Which hospital, opened in 1872 with funds from Chinese community leaders, was the first Chinese hospital in Hong Kong?
  21. In which year was the lease of the New Territories due to end, 99 years after its start in 1898?
  22. For how long did the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong last, from December 1941 to August 1945?
  23. Which list gives the order in which British Hong Kong grew by territory?
  24. Which order of events is correct: the Basic Law adopted, the Joint Declaration signed, the handover?
  25. The Joint Declaration came in 1984 and the handover in 1997. How many years later did the handover happen?

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