New Territories

{{Chinese|c=新界|y=syīn jyèh|j=san1 gaai3|p=Xīnjiè|l=New Frontier|i={{IPA-yue|sɐ́n.gāːi|}}}} '''New Territories''' (abbreviated to '''NT''' or '''N.T.''') is one of the three main regions of [[Hong Kong]], alongside [[Hong Kong Island]] and the [[Kowloon Peninsula]]. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in [[The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory]]. According to that the territories comprise the mainland area north of the [[Boundary Street]] of [[Kowloon Peninsula]] and south of the [[Sham Chun River]] which is the border between Hong Kong and [[Mainland China]], as well as over 200 [[Outlying Islands, Hong Kong|outlying Islands]] including [[Lantau Island]], [[Lamma Island]], [[Cheung Chau]], and [[Peng Chau]] in the territory of Hong Kong. Later, after [[New Kowloon]] was defined from the area between the Boundary Street and the Kowloon Ranges spanned from [[Lai Chi Kok]] to [[Lei Yue Mun]], and the extension of the urban areas of Kowloon, New Kowloon was gradually urbanised and absorbed into Kowloon. In modern times New Kowloon is almost always considered part of Kowloon and instead of the New Territories – except statutorily. Hence, the New Territories now comprises only the mainland north of the Kowloon Ranges and south of the Sham Chun River, as well as the Outlying Islands. It comprises an area of 952 km² (368 sq mi). [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055517/New-Territories] Nevertheless, New Kowloon has remained statutorily part of the New Territories instead of Kowloon. The New Territories were leased from [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]] [[China]] to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1898 for 99 years in the [[Second Convention of Peking]] (The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory). Upon the expiration of the lease, [[transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong|sovereignty was transferred]] to [[People's Republic of China]] in 1997, together with the Qing ceded territories of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula. In 2006, New Territories had a population of 3,573,635 and its population density was 3,748 per km².{{Fact|date=November 2008}} ===Lease of New Territories=== [[Image:Map of The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory in 1898 - 1.jpg|thumb|A map of the leased New Territories and [[New Kowloon]] during the 1898 [[Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory]]]] [[Hong Kong Island]] was ceded to [[United Kingdom|Britain]] in 1841 and [[Kowloon]] south of [[Boundary Street]] and [[Stonecutters Island]] in 1860. The colony of Hong Kong attracted a large number of Chinese and Westerners to seek their fortune in the city. Its population increased rapidly and the city became overcrowded. The outbreak of [[bubonic plague]] in 1894 became a concern to the [[Hong Kong Government]]. There was a need to expand the colony to accommodate its growing population. The [[Qing Dynasty]]'s defeat in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] had shown that it was incapable of defending itself. [[Victoria, Hong Kong|Victoria City]] and [[Victoria Harbour]] were vulnerable to any hostile forces launching attacks from the hills of Kowloon. Alarmed by European encroachment in China, Britain also feared for the security of Hong Kong. Using the [[most favoured nation]] clause that it had negotiated with Peking, the United Kingdom demanded the extension of Kowloon to counter the influence of France in southern China in June 1898. In July, it secured [[Weihaiwei]] in Shandong in the north as a base for operations against the Germans in [[Qingdao]] (Tsingtao) and the Russians in Port Arthur. Chinese officials stayed in the walled cities of [[Kowloon Walled City|Kowloon City]] and Weihaiwei. The extension of Kowloon was called the ''New Territories''. The additional land was estimated to be 365 square miles (945 km²) or 12 times the size of the existing [[Colonial Hong Kong]] at the time. ===British assumption of sovereignty=== Although the Convention was signed on the 9 June 1898 and became effective on 1 July, the British did not take over the New Territories immediately. During this period, there was no [[Hong Kong Governor]] and [[Wilsone Black]] acted as administrator. [[James Haldane Stewart Lockhart|Steward Lockhart]], the [[Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong]], was sent back from England to make a survey of New Territories before formal transfer. The survey found that the new frontier at Sham Chun River (Shenzhen river) suggested by Wilsone Black was far from ideal. It excluded the town of [[Shenzhen]] (Sham Chun), and the boundary would divide the town. There was no mountain range as a natural border. Lockhard suggested moving the frontier to the line of hills north of Shenzhen. This suggestion was not received favorably and the Chinese official suggested the frontier be moved to the hill much further south of the Sham Chun River. It was settled in March 1899 that the boundary remain at the Sham Chun River. The new Hong Kong Governor [[Henry Arthur Blake|Henry Blake]] arrived in November 1898. The date for the takeover of the New Territories was fixed as 17 April 1899 and [[Tai Po]] was chosen as the administrative centre. However the transfer was not smooth and peaceful. Before the handover in early April, Captain Superintendent of Police, [[Francis Henry May]] and some policemen erected a flagstaff and temporary headquarters at Tai Po and posted the Governor's proclamation of the takeover date. [[Frederick Lugard|Lord Lugard]] was Governor from 1907 to 1912, and he proposed the return of [[Weihaiwei]] to the Chinese government, in return for the ceding of the leased New Territories in perpetuity. The proposal was not received favourably, although if it had been acted on, Hong Kong might have remained forever in British hands. ===New town development=== Much of the New Territories were, and to a limited extent still are, rural areas. Attempts at modernising the area did not become fully committed until the late 1970s, when many [[new town#Hong Kong|new towns]] were built to accommodate the population growth from urbanized areas of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Despite rapid development of the new towns which has resulted in a population of over 3 million, the [[Hong Kong Government]] confines built-up areas to a few areas and reserves large parts of the region as [[Hong Kong Country Parks|parkland]]. ===Sovereignty transfer to the PRC=== As the expiration date of the lease neared in the 1980s, talks between the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[People's Republic of China]] led to the signing of the [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]] (1984), in which the whole of Hong Kong would be returned, instead of only the New Territories. This is because Hong Kong's shipping ports, reservoirs and other vital installations were all in the New Territories. Had only the New Territories been returned to China, it would also have been difficult to accommodate those New Territories residents moving to the [[Kowloon Peninsula]] and [[Hong Kong Island]]. ==Districts== The New Territories comprise two geographical constituencies in the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|Legislative Council]], with nine [[Districts of Hong Kong|districts]] each with their own [[District Councils of Hong Kong|District Council]]: * [[New Territories East (constituency)|New Territories East]] (7 seats) ** [[North District, Hong Kong|North District]] ** [[Sai Kung District|Sai Kung]] ** [[Sha Tin District|Sha Tin]] ** [[Tai Po District|Tai Po]] * [[New Territories West (constituency)|New Territories West]] (8 seats) ** [[Islands District, Hong Kong|Islands]] ** [[Kwai Tsing District]] ([[Kwai Chung]] and [[Tsing Yi|Tsing Yi Island]]) ** [[Tsuen Wan District|Tsuen Wan]] ** [[Tuen Mun District|Tuen Mun]] ** [[Yuen Long District|Yuen Long]] == Population == According to the [[Census in Hong Kong|2001 census]], the population of the New Territories was 3,343,046, representing 49.8% of Hong Kong's total population. == New Kowloon == [[New Kowloon]] covers the entirety of the [[Wong Tai Sin District|Wong Tai Sin]] and [[Kwun Tong District|Kwun Tong]] districts, as well as the mainland portion of the [[Sham Shui Po District]] (i.e. excluding the [[Stonecutters Island]]) and the northern portion of the [[Kowloon City District]] (portion to the north of the Boundary Street/Prince Edward Road West, as well as reclaimed land including the [[Kai Tak Airport]]). ==See also== * [[Boundary Street]] * [[Country parks and conservation in Hong Kong]] * [[Kowloon Peninsula]] * [[List of areas of Hong Kong]] * [[New Kowloon]] == Further reading == *Lee Ho Yin and Lynne D. DiStefano, ''A Tale of Two Villages: The Story of Changing Village Life in the New Territories'' (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press), 2002. ==External links== {{commonscat|New Territories}} *[http://www.info.gov.hk/yearbook/2003/english/chapter21/21_03.html Lease of the New Territories] *[http://www.info.gov.hk/yearbook/2002/ehtml/e21-03.htm Lease of the New Territories] *[http://www.legislation.gov.hk/blis_ind.nsf/0/06cb20f78512760748256648002f8720?OpenDocument Cap 1 Sched 5A - Area of the New Territories] {{Hong Kong}} {{coord missing}}