​Water in Hong Kong: The City that shouldn’t exist

​Water in Hong Kong: The City that shouldn't exist

Taken completely for granted by most residents today, Hong Kong’s water security – and the intermittent lack of it – is closely interconnected with its economic development. Availability of water directly relates to British acquisition of Hong Kong Island in 1841, and the ongoing, vital issue of water security directly related to defence planning for the colony in the lead-up to the Pacific War, and its ultimate return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

In this extensively-illustrated lecture, we will learn about Hong Kong’s widespread reservoir construction from the 1850s on to the 1960s, later reliance on mainland supplies, and how the story of water intimately connects with Hong Kong’s gradual reafforestation over the last 150 years.