These trivia questions about Hong Kong come in four rounds: the name, the hills and the map; dynasties, traders and treaties; buildings, boats and getting around; and language, food and music.
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A city pack in four rounds
The name, the hills and the map asks about Tai Mo Shan, the 18 districts and the year the name became two words. Dynasties, traders and treaties runs from the Qin to the Joint Declaration of 1984. Buildings, boats and getting around has tong lau, kai-to and the funicular of 1888. Language, food and music has yum cha and Cantopop.
For a class, a stopover or a quiz night
Each tap gets an answer back from the card: which choice was correct, a short reason, and the article link. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and the pack treats it as a city: no elections, protests or living people.
Questions and answers
What are some easy trivia questions on Hong Kong?
How is the name Hong Kong usually translated? For how many years did the lease of the New Territories run? On which side of the road do cars drive? The answers are fragrant harbor, 99 years and the left.
Are the answers checked?
Yes. Every answer was found in the Wikipedia article Hong Kong on October 3, 2026, and each question links to it. Population figures, wealth rankings, living people, politics after 1984, sports, betting and company names are left out, with the handover of 1997.
What is the highest point in Hong Kong?
Tai Mo Shan, at 957 meters above sea level. Much of the territory is hilly, and about 40 percent of the land is country parks and nature reserves.
Which languages are official in Hong Kong?
Chinese and English. Cantonese, a variety of Chinese that originated in Guangzhou, is the predominant language, and writing uses traditional characters.
At 957 meters above sea level, what is the highest point of Hong Kong?Answer: Tai Mo Shan. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Besides Hong Kong Island, the territory takes in over 200 islands. Which one is named in its own right?Answer: Lantau Island. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The Cantonese phrase behind the name Hong Kong is usually translated in which way?Answer: Fragrant harbor. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Hong Kong is hilly, with little flat ground. Roughly what share of its land is country parks and nature reserves?Answer: About 40 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Hong Kong Island and Kowloon are two of the three areas of the territory. Which is the third?Answer: The New Territories. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Hong Kong sits on the eastern side of the estuary of which river?Answer: The Pearl River. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Into how many districts are the three areas of Hong Kong further divided?Answer: Eighteen. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The name Hong Kong originally referred to a small inlet between the southern coast of Hong Kong Island and which other island?Answer: Aberdeen Island. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The second colonial governor offered another origin for the name: a word for the color of soil under a waterfall. What did he say it meant?Answer: Red torrent. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Until which year was the name commonly written as the single word Hongkong, before the government adopted the two-word form?Answer: 1926. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which city of Guangdong is the northern neighbor of Hong Kong, along the Sham Chun River?Answer: Shenzhen. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which season is the sunniest in Hong Kong?Answer: Autumn. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Dynasties, traders and treaties 12
Between 1661 and 1683 most of the people of the area were moved away from the coast. What is that episode called?Answer: The Great Clearance. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
During the Mongol conquest of the 13th century, the court of which dynasty was briefly located in what is now Kowloon City?Answer: The Southern Song. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
European demand was high for three Chinese commodities: tea, silk and which other?Answer: Porcelain. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
From which country did the earliest known European visitor to Hong Kong, Jorge Álvares, come in 1513?Answer: Portugal. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Hong Kong was occupied during World War II from December 1941 until the British resumed control in August 1945. Which country occupied it?Answer: Japan. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
In 1898 the United Kingdom obtained a lease of the New Territories. For how many years did it run?Answer: 99 years. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The system that Qing authorities set up in 1757 to regulate trade more strictly was named after which port?Answer: Canton. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Under the Convention of Peking, which peninsula was added to the colony together with Stonecutters Island?Answer: The Kowloon Peninsula. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which agreement of 1984 set out the future of the colony after the end of the lease?Answer: The Sino-British Joint Declaration. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which dynasty brought the Hong Kong area into China for the first time, in 214 BCE?Answer: The Qin. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which institution, established in 1911, was the first place of higher education in Hong Kong?Answer: The University of Hong Kong. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which treaty of 1842 formally ceded Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom?Answer: The Treaty of Nanking. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Buildings, boats and getting around 12
About 6 percent of the land of Hong Kong was gained in which way?Answer: By reclaiming it from the sea. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The Central and Western District is known for a long outdoor covered system of which kind, climbing to the Mid-Levels?Answer: Escalators and moving walkways. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The first public transport system of Hong Kong is a funicular that has climbed from Central to Victoria Peak since which year?Answer: 1888. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The oldest existing structure in Hong Kong was first built in 1012 and rebuilt in 1266. What kind of building is it?Answer: A temple. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
On which side of the road do cars drive in Hong Kong, unlike in mainland China?Answer: The left. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The trams that have run on Hong Kong Island since 1904 are known for which design?Answer: Double-decker cars. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
The Tsui Sing Lau on the Ping Shan Heritage Trail is the only remaining example in Hong Kong of which kind of building?Answer: A pagoda. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
What are the smaller boats called that serve the most remote coastal settlements of Hong Kong?Answer: Kai-to. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
What are tong lau, buildings that blended southern Chinese styles with European influences in the colonial era?Answer: Mixed-use tenement buildings. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which building of 1846, once the home of the commander of the British forces, is the oldest Western-style building in Hong Kong?Answer: Flagstaff House. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which traditional vessels, once common in Hong Kong waters, are now used only privately and for tourism?Answer: Junks. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
With fresh water in short supply, what do toilets in most built-up areas of Hong Kong flush with?Answer: Seawater. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Language, food and music 12
Before the middle of the 19th century Hong Kong had no significant Cantonese-speaking population. Which of these was widely spoken there instead?Answer: Hakka varieties. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are four of up to five daily meals in Hong Kong. What is the fifth called?Answer: Siu yeh. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Cantonese, the predominant language of Hong Kong, is a variety of Chinese that originated in which city?Answer: Guangzhou. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Cantopop evolved from shidaiqu, a style of song from which city?Answer: Shanghai. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Cantopop is a kind of Cantonese popular music. In which decade did it emerge in Hong Kong?Answer: The 1970s. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Chinese is one official language of Hong Kong. Which is the other?Answer: English. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Dim sum is eaten with family and friends as part of which dining-out tradition?Answer: Yum cha. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
What is a cha chaan teng?Answer: A Hong Kong-style cafe. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
What is the mixing of English and Cantonese in informal conversation, common among bilingual Hongkongers, called?Answer: Code-switching. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which kind of Chinese characters is used for writing in Hong Kong?Answer: Traditional characters. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which of these is a common item on the menu of a Hong Kong-style cafe?Answer: Macaroni in soup. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
Which of these is on the list of Hong Kong dim sum dishes?Answer: Egg tarts. Source: Wikipedia: Hong Kong
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Every answer was read on October 3, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article Hong Kong (text under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license), which is linked beside each question; the questions, wrong choices and explanations are in our own words. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and the questions treat it as a city and a territory. Left out on purpose: population figures and ranks, wealth and property rankings, temperature records, current office-holders and living people, elections, protests and present-day politics, sports and betting, companies, payment cards, airlines, theme parks and other brands, and customs and beliefs. Levels are our estimate: easy is fair for any table, medium suits people who know the city, hard will stump most tables. Licence: own work