BP GEOGRAPHIC

“Hong Kong was chosen by the Englishmen as the location of their settlement with the kind of insight that’s typical for the British. The island on which northern side it is located is mountainous and has a circumference of about eighteen till twenty English miles. Its position has the advantage that the spacious harbour has two entrances, which are opposing each other, so that it can be entered at almost every wind. The water of the harbour is so deep that ships with fifteen feet draft can anchor in close distance to the land. A soft, stiff clay ground provides excellent anchoring ground until close to the shore, and the high mountains which are surrounding the basin provide a good protection against the usual autumn and winter storms.” (Karl May – “At the Pacific Ocean”)