MEET THE CITY

In the decade since June 30, 1997, when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, the former British colony has experienced what the locals call “interesting times.” But there hasn’t been a crisis or disaster yet from which the city has failed to bounce back. Hong Kong continues to rank as the world’s freest economy, according to the Index of Economic Freedom—the People’s Republic of China is 111th—and has always been friendly to legitimate business. Taxes are low, and business registration formalities are straightforward.


English is the business lingua franca and widely spoken. The city is law-abiding and safe, communications and public transport are modern, cheap and efficient, and the population works famously hard. Book a hotel on the same side of the harbor where you expect to have most of your business meetings. Traffic congestion remains a problem. Advance bookings are essential for fashionable restaurants, and formal business attire is still expected in a hot, humid and increasingly polluted city. Pack lightweight clothes and plenty of business cards—everybody you meet will expect to exchange cards with you.

Where to stay

Hong Kong includes several of the world’s finest hotels. The following three choices express different aspects of the city to superb effect.

When the Mandarin Oriental (5 Connaught Road, Central, +852 28 204 202, mandarinoriental.com) hotel reopened in September 2006 after a nine-month, US$140 million renovation, the central Business District regained its focus, and business travelers from all over the world reclaimed their second home. Now the luxurious suites and rooms match up with the hotel’s legendary service standards and sumptuous public areas.

Hong Kong’s only Grande Dame hotel, opened in 1928, The Peninsula (aka “The Pen,” Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, + 852 29 202 888, hongkong.peninsula.com) is one of the great hotels of the East and a reminder of the grace and elegance of a bygone colonial era. Few experiences beat being collected at the airport by one of The Pen’s signature green Rolls Royce limousines.

Island Shangri-La (Pacific Place, Central, +852 28 773 838, shangri-la.com) offers a contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese hospitality, in surroundings that evoke the best of the past amid the high-rise modernity of the Pacific Place luxury shopping mall. The hotel staff specializes in knowing exactly what you want, even before you do.

Where to dine

Hong Kong gourmets are spoiled for choice in one of the world’s great eating towns, but a particularly hot table choice at the moment is the newly opened YunFu (Basement 43–55 Wyndham Street, Central, + 852 2116 8855, aqua.com.hk, 12–3 p.m. & 6–11:30 p.m. daily) which promises to take diners on a culinary adventure among China’s northern ethnic minorities, with strong Tibetan influences in both the food and the decor. Try the succulent roasted whole duck marinated in Chinese tea leaves and herbs and the Wok-fried fish fillet with golden salty egg yolk.