CURATED BY THE FÊTE CHINOISE EDITORIAL TEAM
IMAGES REPOSTED FROM INSTAGram, visual china group, South China Morning Post, Sixth tone, hong kong free press, ebay, GEORGE FRESTON and douglas so

A brief history: britain & hong kong

Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842 to 1997. In 1839, during the First Opium War, Britain invaded China and one of its first acts was to occupy Hong Kong. In 1841, Qing Government surrendered Hong Kong island to the British. In 1898, Britain was given an additional 99 years of rule over Hong Kong under a special convention. On July 1st, 1997, Hong Kong returned to China, after 155 years of British colonialization. During the time of Britain’s rule, the city of Hong Kong was developed and evolved into the global hub and a world-class city.

An outpouring of social media posts and tributes continues around the world, and many fascinating moments of history with the Queen have been shared, especially of her visit to Hong Kong and of interesting bilingual souvenirs and collectors items that honour the Queen. We highlight some posts below that were publicly shared by loyal admirers and collectors, as a moment to remember the incredible person and leader that Queen Elizabeth II was, dutifully serving the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth for 7 decades. She was a symbol of stability and a constant in a face-paced and changing world. The photographs you are about to view demonstrate how much world history she lived and led through, and these are only a select few moments through the lens of Chinese diaspora in Canada.

queen elizabeth in mainland china

From October 12 to 18, 1986, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to visit China. It was seen as a critical piece of diplomacy, coming soon after testing negotiations between the United Kingdom and People's Republic of China over the eventual return of Hong Kong in 1997.

QUEEN ELIZABETH in HONG KONG

The Queen visited Hong Kong on two previous occasions, once in 1975 and the second and last time in 1986.

Although the last visit to Hong Kong by Queen Elizabeth II was in 1986, many publications in the city continued to celebrate her on their covers, especially marking her jubilee milestones.

collectors’ items of queen elizabeth II in colonial hong kong

There have been many interesting objects and images of heirlooms shared by mourners and admirers in the recent week. Do you have a special item? If you do, please share with our editorial team for a chance to share it with other readers!

As The Royal Family and the world say their final goodbyes to the Queen, she leaves a very big role to fill. Her steadfastness and devotion to service was not only noteworthy and unplaceable. She was a female leader in a world that favoured male leaders. Truly one of a kind, and called to a special duty of generations, the Queen will always hold a lasting place in the hearts of many. The next three heirs will be kings, but all who were guided by and learned from Queen Elizabeth II.

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