As the British rule in Hong Kong draws to a close after a century and a half, the colony remains one of the most vital and intriguing places on earth. Despite being founded on an uninviting collection of sparsely populated islands on the Chinese coast, occupied by the Japanese in wartime, and surrounded by a belligerent communist giant for over forty years, Hong Kong has grown into a global leader in manufacturing, commerce, and finance--the very symbol of dramatic growth and prosperity. An Illustrated History of Hong Kong captures that dynamic past in a sweeping account of this legendary city. Combining lavish and revealing illustrations (many of them seen here for the first time) with an authoritative text, Nigel Cameron reaches back to the prehistoric past, long before the arrival of the first Europeans, to build a comprehensive picture of this remarkable region's past. Based on numerous Chinese sources, the book offers a new perspective on the interplay between the Chinese and Westerners in shaping the Hong Kong we know today, and looks ahead to the implications of the resumption of Chinese rule in 1997. The result in an engrossing, up-to-the-minute narrative packed with over a hundred illustrations, including twenty-four color plates.--Publisher description.