Then & Now: early maps attest to HK's 'fluid' borders
Early maps of Hong Kong, however inaccurate, provide a picture of its historical evolution and ever-shifting borders. writes Jason Wordie
For such a relatively small place, Hong Kong has been extensively
- some might say exhaustively - studied and documented. And in few instances has this documentation been more thorough than in mapping.
Recent controversies about perceived redefinitions of the northern border with the mainland are nothing new. Hong Kong's boundaries with Guangdong - call these arbitrary lines on a map, if you will - have always been somewhat fluid, subject to change as political and economic circumstances dictated.
For centuries, Hong Kong formed part of Po On county, which was also known as Sun On county. As the region was remote, and, like much of the area south of the Shenzhen River, sparsely populated and mountainous, detailed maps were rare and held only by the provincial administration.