The Islands District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is part of the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

. It had a population of 170,900 in 2018. Hong Kong consists of a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

and 263 islands. The Islands District consists of some twenty large and small islands which lie to the south and southwest of Hong Kong. Notable areas that are part of the Islands District include Chek Lap Kok, the reclaimed island on which

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distingui ...

is located, Tung Chung on northern Lantau near the airport, and Discovery Bay, a large private residential area on eastern Lantau.

Islands of Hong Kong

Many islands of Hong Kong are actually not part of the district. Most notably,

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km2, . The island had a population of a ...

contains four districts itself. The term '' Outlying Islands'' tends to refer to the islands of the Islands District. The northeast point of Lantau and Ma Wan traditionally belong to Tsuen Wan District owing to their administration and transportation dependence of

Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a town built on a bay in the western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite of Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged from the surrounding villages and fl ...

. Tsing Yi Island once was administrated by Tsuen Wan District and now by

Kwai Tsing District Kwai Tsing is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It consists of two parts - Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi Island. Kwai Tsing is part of the New Territories. It had a population of 520,572 in 2016. The district has the third least educated res ...

. Whilst the Sai Kung Islands are part of the Sai Kung District, and the Tolo Channel Islands part of

Tai Po District Tai Po District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. The suburban district covers the areas of Tai Po New Town (including areas such as Tai Po Market, , Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Wo Estate), Tai Po Tau, Tai Po Kau, Hong Lok Yuen, ...

Demographics

With an area that is 16% of Hong Kong and a population that is 2% of Hong Kong, the Islands District is the largest in terms of area and also the least populated. It is therefore the district with by far the lowest

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

of 783 per km². The outlying islands are notable for a more relaxed way of life than that of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula. The district has the third-youngest residents. Collectively, Mui Wo and Tai O on Lantau,

Cheung Chau Cheung Chau (lit. "Long Island") is an island southwest of Hong Kong Island. It is nicknamed the 'dumbbell island (啞鈴島)' due to its shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in Hong Kong, and had a population of ...

Lamma Island Lamma Island, also known as Y Island or Pok Liu Chau or simply Pok Liu, is the third largest island in Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Islands District. Name Lamma Island was named Lamma only because of a chart reading error by ...

and Peng Chau are more populated than the rest of the area of the district.

Islands of the district

* Cha Kwo Chau * Chek Lap Kok (

is built here) *

* Hei Ling Chau ** Sunshine Island (Chau Kung To) * Peaked Hill (Kai Yek Kok) *

Kau Yi Chau Kau Yi Chau (formerly Kau I Island or Kau-i-chau), also known as Tai Kau Yi Chau, is an uninhabited island located west of Victoria Harbour, between Peng Chau and Green Island in Hong Kong. It is located on the crossroad of sea routes, east to ...

** Siu Kau Yi Chau *

** Luk Chau (George Island) *

Lantau Island Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands ...

(The largest part of the district) ** Discovery Bay ** Mui Wo ** Tai O ** Tung Chung * Peng Chau ** Tai Lei *

Po Toi Islands The Po Toi Islands are a small group of islands with a population of around 200, south-east of Hong Kong Island, off Stanley, in Hong Kong. The main island of the group is Po Toi Island. Administratively, they are part of Islands District. The ...

** Lo Chau (Beaufort Island) ** Mat Chau ** Po Toi ** Sung Kong **

Waglan Island Waglan Island is a member of the Po Toi group of islands in Hong Kong. It hosts a ground of meteorological observation and recording. Waglan lighthouse The Waglan Lighthouse on Waglan Island has been listed as a declared monument of Hong K ...

* Shek Kwu Chau *

Soko Islands The Soko Islands () are a group of islands in Hong Kong. The group consists of Tai A Chau, Siu A Chau and several smaller nearby islands, in the southwesternmost waters of the territory, to the southwest of Lantau Island. An older name for t ...

** Cheung Muk Tau ** Ma Chau ** Siu A Chau ** Tai A Chau ** Tau Lo Chau ** Yuen Chau ** Yuen Kong Chau

Transport

Most of the islands in the Islands District have

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

services linking them with each other and the remainder of the territory, along with

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

and nearby cities in the Pearl Delta, including

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

and

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

. Public ferry piers are located at Tai O (Wing Hong Street, Shek Tsai Po), Tung Chung,

, Cheung Chau Wan, Mui Wo (Silvermine Bay),

( Yung Shue Wan,

Sok Kwu Wan 250px, Sok Kwu Wan viewed from Lamma Island walk Sok Kwu Wan () or Picnic Bay () is a bay on the east coast of Lamma Island, Hong Kong. A fishing town of the same name, Sok Kwu Wan, in the bay has a cluster of famous and well-reputed seafood res ...

), Discovery Bay,

Chi Ma Wan Chi Ma Wan () is a bay on southeastern Lantau Island, New Territories, Hong Kong. Chi Ma Wan Peninsula () is where Chi Ma Wan, as well as Cheung Sha Wan, Tai Long Wan, Yi Long Wan and Mong Tung Wan are located. The Peninsula is located with ...

, and Peng Chau. However, only

has a

fixed link A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

to the

and the rest of Hong Kong. This is via the

North Lantau Highway North Lantau Highway is an expressway forming part of Hong Kong's Route 8, linking Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau Island with the rest of the territory. The road has three lanes in each direction for its entire length with ful ...

and the Lantau Link, part of the

Airport Core Programme The Airport Core Programme was a series of infrastructure projects centred on the new Hong Kong International Airport during the early 1990s. The programme was part of the Port and Airport Development Strategy, commonly known as the Rose Gard ...

completed in 1998. Most recently, since 2018, Lantau is the location of the Hong Kong Port of Entry for the

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fi ...

. Lantau is also the only island in the Islands District with a well-developed

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

network on land. It has the only

MTR The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...

stations within the district; they are Tung Chung on the Tung Chung line and two on the Airport Express serving

the airport "The Airport" is the 52nd episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It is the 12th episode of the fourth season and aired on November 25, 1992. This episode centers on Jerry and Elaine's differing experiences in first class and coach on the same airli ...

and AsiaWorld Expo ( Sunny Bay and

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks ...

on the Disneyland Resort line administratively lie in Tsuen Wan District). Finally, Lantau is the only island with franchised taxis and

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...

, the latter mainly provided by New Lantao Bus (although other operators serve the northern shore, the airport, Disneyland, and Discovery Bay).

References

External links

Islands District Council

List and map of electoral constituencies (large PDF file)
* https://web.archive.org/web/20041203114950/http://www.islandsdc.gov.hk/ {{Major cities along the Pearl River