Digital Hong Kong Maps

The Lands Department's Survey and Mapping Office (SMO) has, in collaboration with two business partners, generated two digital maps on the web showing locations of public facilities, places of interest such as shops, restaurants and cinemas. Digital Hong Kong City maps can be found at:

HK City Map: www.hkcitymap.com/

Centamap: www.centamap.com/

What are Canadians' Impressions of Hong Kong?

Let's see what Canadian journalists who visited Hong Kong have to say:

"As reported throughout, everyone has been highly impressed with the thoroughness that has gone into these rather extensive preparations.  Those in charge are open to and ask for comments and suggestions.  There is no arrogance here - if there is a question in any area, qualified and experienced advice is sought.  It is this refreshing attitude that will make these Games a success."

Hong Kong: First Impression...

"This place is even more crazy and urban than imagination would allow me to expect. One thing that struck me the first night was that many of these skyscrapers crowded together outside my 14th floor window were in almost complete darkness. It is a contrast to North American cities, where city lights never seem to go out, at least in the downtown core. I asked our main tour guide Bob Howlett about it and he replied that many of the buildings are apartments and people economize on energy costs. He then told me that when they were filing the newest Batman movie here, people were asked to keep their lights on at night during the film shoot to make the skyline more spectacular. The general response was "you pay for it, and we will do it."  The food so far is outstanding. In the block around the hotel are more restaurants than in all of the Dunbar neighborhood in Vancouver where I live."

On-line blog at www.gaitpost.com, March 11, 2008
Karen Robinson, equestrian journalist

On the Equestrian Event preparation...

"A growing "new" town, Sha Tin, once famous for incense gathered from the surrounding hills, is certainly an interesting setting for an Olympic venue: Within the beautifully landscaped Penfold Park belonging to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, skirted on one side by the vast and picturesque Shing Mun River, surrounded by urban sprawl and the ugly grey concrete columns of high-rise apartment buildings that have grown out of former rice paddies. Given clear weather and a strong pair of binoculars residential balconies and windows could provide the best vantage points to witness an Olympic equestrian spectacle, free of charge, for the local population."

"Although Hong Kong was given little more than three years to prepare to host the equestrian events for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, there is no doubt that they are on track, thanks to the great enthusiasm and expertise exhibited by the organizers. Similarly, following a second trip to Hong Kong last week, I can reassure anyone considering a trip to this dynamic city, that they will be treated to some of the best hospitality, will meet some of the friendliest people, and will return home with extremely fond memories of a visit to the jewel in Asia's crown."

Gaitpost - March issue, 2008
Jean Llewellyn, equestrian journalist

"Hong Kong leveraged all those advantages to become a very successful trade and business centre in Asia. Since the late 1970s as China gradually introduced a market-based economy, Hong Kong has adapted its core strengths to change with the times. During that transition, it moved most of its production plants over the border into the neighboring Pearl River Delta, housing its business and financial service providers in gleaming office towers. On the political side, after the 1997 handover to China, it has moved more smoothly than many expected from being a British colonial territory to a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China."

Canadian Transportation & Logistics, September 2007
Ken Mark, freelance writer

"My first trip there was twenty years ago, when I was the first Minister in the newly elected Mulroney government to visit Hong Kong. I saw many things during my short visit, but the impression that lasted was of millions of people living in an area not much larger than my constituency whose only resources were geography and ingenuity, but who had become world leaders in a wide range of areas. It left me feeling that, if Canadians could combine the advantages that come from our natural bounty and diverse population with the creativity and work ethic that typify Hong Kong, the result would be a world-beater."

Speech of the Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters at the Hong Kong Parliamentary Breakfast Meeting on May 18, 2006

"Legions of regional officials are circling the globe, attempting to convince executives that routing business through Hong Kong is still the smartest decision." 

Ask Bernard Pouliot, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, whether it's best to go straight into China, with all its risks and unknown, or to use Hong Kong as a stepping stone to the mainland, and the answer comes quickly. "If you're telling Canadian businessmen to go to China directly, I would say probably not," he says. "Hong Kong has a lot to offer. As you go into China, you realize that more and more."

"The Stepping-Stone Island" - Canadian Business, November 8 -12 , 2004 issue
Laura Bogomolny

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