Hong Kong - Name of Origin

Do you know that there are different theories on how Hong Kong got her name?

First, we need to know what “Hong Kong” stands for.

It’s 香港 in Chinese. “香” can refer to “fragrance”, “sweet smell” or “incense”, where “港” means “harbor”. So, basically Hong Kong is a “harbor of fragrance / incense”.

Some people suggest that Hong Kong is a harbor city which used to sell / produce incenses, hence the name. The explanation is…too convenient, if you ask me.

One theory suggests that the Guangdong Province is abundant with trees that can produce fragrant wood. And Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀, southern part of Kowloon) was the trading port of the wood. Since Tsim Sha Tsui used to be called 香埠頭 in the past and was a place that processed fragrant wood …Yeah, you can guess the rest.

Some say that there was a river that flew into the sea. It’s rumored that the water in that river tasted so fresh and sweet, thus being called “香江” (Sweet River). Guess where the river located?

There is also a funny story. When the westerners first visited Hong Kong, they went to Aberdeen (香港仔, literally “Little Hong Kong”, see how the name is similar to “Hong Kong”?) and asked a local villager where they were. Out of laziness, the villager simply responded with the abbreviation “香港”, instead of the full name “香港仔”. So the westerners ended up thinking that the whole city was called香港.

And there are still many theories out there, though no one can tell the real reason why Hong Kong is called “Hong Kong”…

Wait, why does it sound like the ending of some horror stories?