Hinduism is the predominant religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as '''' (a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", "the eternal law that sustains/upholds/surely preserves"), amongst many other expressions. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Among other practices and philosophies, Hinduism includes a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of "daily morality" based on the notion of karma, dharma, and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs. Hinduism grants a great degree of freedom of belief and worship. Also, the concept of heresy is absent.

Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India and, as such, Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion" or the "oldest living major religion" in the world.

A large body of texts is classified as Hindu, divided into Śruti ("revealed") and Smriti ("remembered") texts. These texts discuss theology, philosophy and mythology, and provide information on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among these texts, the ''Vedas'' are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the ''Upanishads'', '''' and the epics '''' and ''''. The '''', a syncretistic treatise from the '''', is of special importance. It combines Vedanta, Yoga, and some Samkhya philosophy into its discussion of good conduct and life.

Etymology

The word ''Hindu'' is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Sindhu'', the historic local appellation for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. and is first mentioned in the Rig Veda

The word ''Hindu'' was first used by Arab invaders and then went further west by the Arabic term ''al-Hind'' referring to the land of the people who live across river Indus. and the Persian term Hindū referring to all Indians. By the 13th century, ''Hindustān'' emerged as a popular alternative name of India, meaning the "land of ''Hindus''".

Originally, ''Hindu'' was a secular term which was used to describe all inhabitants and cultures of the Indian subcontinent (or ''Hindustan'') irrespective of their religious affiliations. It also occurs sporadically in Sanskrit texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450), some 16th-18th century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts, including ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' and ''Chaitanya Bhagavata'', usually to contrast Hindus with Yavanas or Mlecchas. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that the European merchants and colonists referred collectively to the followers of Indian religions as ''Hindus''. Eventually, it came to define a precisely religious identity that includes any person of Indian origin who neither practiced Abrahamic religions nor non-Vedic Indian religions, such as Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, or tribal (Adivasi) religions, thereby encompassing a wide range of religious beliefs and practices related to "Sanātana Dharma".

The term ''Hinduism'' was introduced into the English language in the 19th century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India. Thus, in a way, Hinduism ''literally'' translates to "Indianism".

About Dharma

This "power" that lies behind nature and that keeps everything in balance became a natural forerunner to the idea of ''Dharma.'' The idea of ''rta'' laid the cornerstone of dharma's implicit attribution to the "ultimate reality" of the surrounding universe, in classical Vedic Hinduism the following verse from the Rig-Veda is an example where ''rta'' is mentioned:

The transition of the ''rta'' to the modern idea of dharma occurs in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Upanishads saw dharma as the universal principle of law, order, harmony, all in all truth, that sprang first from Brahman. It acts as the regulatory moral principle of the Universe. It is ''sat'' (truth), a major tenet of Hinduism. This hearkens back to the conception of the Rig Veda that "Ekam Sat," (Truth Is One), of the idea that Brahman is "''Sacchidananda''" (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). Dharma is not just law, or harmony, it is pure Reality. In the Brihadaranyaka's own words:

In the Mahabharata, Krishna defines dharma as, i.e., Dharma upholds both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11).

The word ''Sanātana'' means perpetual embodiment(of dharma); signifying that dharma has neither beginning nor end.

History

The earliest evidence for prehistoric religion in India date back to the late Neolithic in the early Harappan period (5500–2600 BCE). The beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era (1500–500 BCE) are called the "historical Vedic religion". Modern Hinduism grew out of the Vedas, the oldest of which is the Rigveda, dated to 1700–1100 BCE. The Vedas center on worship of deities such as ''Indra'', ''Varuna'' and ''Agni'', and on the ''Soma'' ritual. Fire-sacrifices, called '''' were performed, and Vedic mantras chanted but no temples or idols are known.

The major Sanskrit epics, ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'', were compiled over a protracted period during the late centuries BCE and the early centuries CE. They contain mythological stories about the rulers and wars of ancient India, and are interspersed with religious and philosophical treatises. The later Puranas recount tales about devas and devis, their interactions with humans and their battles against rakshasa.

Three major movements underpinned the naissance of a new epoch of Hindu thought: the advent and spread of Upanishadic, Jaina, and Buddhist philosophico-religious thought throughout the broader Indian landmass. Mahavira (24th Tirthankar of Jains) and Buddha (founder of Buddhism) taught that to achieve ''moksha'' or ''nirvana'', one did not have to accept the authority of the Vedas or the caste system. Buddha went a step further and claimed that the existence of a Self/soul or God was unnecessary. Buddhism peaked during the reign of Asoka the Great of the Mauryan Empire, who unified the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE. After 200 CE several schools of thought were formally codified in Indian philosophy, including Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva-Mimamsa and Vedanta. Charvaka, the founder of an atheistic materialist school, came to the fore in North India in the sixth century BCE.

Sanskritic culture went into decline after the end of the Gupta period. The early medieval Puranas helped establish a religious mainstream among the pre-literate tribal societies undergoing acculturation. The tenets of Brahmanic Hinduism and of the Dharmashastras underwent a radical transformation at the hands of the Purana composers, resulting in the rise of a mainstream "Hinduism" that overshadowed all earlier traditions.

Though Islam came to India in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders and the conquest of Sindh, it started to become a major religion during the later Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent. During this period Buddhism declined rapidly and many Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. Numerous Muslim rulers or their army generals such as Aurangzeb and Malik Kafur destroyed Hindu temples and persecuted non-Muslims; however some, such as Akbar, were more tolerant. Hinduism underwent profound changes, in large part due to the influence of the prominent teachers Ramanuja, Madhva, and Chaitanya. Followers of the Bhakti movement moved away from the abstract concept of Brahman, which the philosopher Adi Shankara consolidated a few centuries before, with emotional, passionate devotion towards the more accessible Avatars, especially Krishna and Rama.

The oldest Vedic traditions exhibit strong similarities to the pre-Zoroastrian Proto-Indo-Iranian religion and other Indo-European religions. For example, the '''' deity ''Dyaus'', regarded as the father of the other deities, is linguistically cognate with Zeus—the king of the gods in Greek mythology, Iovis (''gen. of'' Jupiter) —the king of the gods in Roman mythology, and Tiu/Ziu in Germanic mythology. Other Vedic deities also have cognates with those found in other Indo-European speaking peoples' mythologies; see Proto-Indo-European religion and Comparison of Greek and Hindu Gods.

Indology as an academic discipline of studying Indian culture from a European perspective was established in the 19th century, led by scholars such as Max Müller and John Woodroffe. They brought Vedic, Puranic and Tantric literature and philosophy to Europe and the United States. At the same time, societies such as the Brahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Society attempted to reconcile and fuse Abrahamic and Dharmic philosophies, endeavouring to institute societal reform. This period saw the emergence of movements which, while highly innovative, were rooted in indigenous tradition. They were based on the personalities and teachings of individuals, as with Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi. Prominent Hindu philosophers, including Aurobindo and Prabhupada (founder of ISKCON), translated, reformulated and presented Hinduism's foundational texts for contemporary audiences in new iterations, attracting followers and attention in India and abroad. Others such as Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, B.K.S. Iyengar and Swami Rama have also been instrumental in raising the profiles of Yoga and Vedanta in the West. Today modern movements, such as ISKCON and the Swaminarayan Faith, attract a large amount of followers across the world.

Typology

Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents. Of the historical division into six darshanas, only two schools, Vedanta and Yoga survive. The main divisions of Hinduism today are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Smartism and Shaktism. Hinduism also recognizes numerous divine beings subordinate to the Supreme Being or regards them as lower manifestations of it. Other notable characteristics include a belief in reincarnation and karma, as well as in personal duty, or dharma.

McDaniel (2007) distinguishes six generic "types" of Hinduism, in an attempt to accommodate a variety of views on a rather complex subject:

Folk Hinduism, as based on local traditions and cults of local deities at a communal level and spanning back to prehistoric times or at least prior to written Vedas.

Vedic Hinduism as still being practiced by traditionalist brahmins (for example shrautins).

Vedantic Hinduism, for example Advaita (Smartism), as based on the philosophical approach of the Upanishads.

Yogic Hinduism, especially that based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

"Dharmic" Hinduism or "daily morality", based on the notion of Karma, and upon societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs.

Bhakti or devotionalism, especially as in Vaishnavism.

Definitions

Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in declaration of faith or a creed", but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena originating and based on the Vedic traditions.

The characteristic of comprehensive tolerance to differences in belief, and Hinduism's openness, makes it difficult to define as a religion according to traditional Western conceptions. To its adherents, Hinduism is the traditional way of life, and because of the wide range of traditions and ideas incorporated within or covered by it, arriving at a comprehensive definition of the term is problematic. While sometimes referred to as a religion, Hinduism is more often defined as a religious tradition. It is therefore described as both the oldest of the world's religions, and the most diverse. Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or sacred literature, the Vedas, although there are exceptions. Some Hindu religious traditions regard particular rituals as essential for salvation, but a variety of views on this co-exist. Some Hindu philosophies postulate a theistic ontology of creation, of sustenance, and of destruction of the universe, yet some Hindus are atheists. Hinduism is sometimes characterized by the belief in reincarnation (''samsara''), determined by the law of karma, and the idea that salvation is freedom from this cycle of repeated birth and death. However, other religions of the region, such as Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, also believe in karma, outside the scope of Hinduism. Hinduism is therefore viewed as the most complex of all of the living, historical world religions. Despite its complexity, Hinduism is not only one of the numerically largest faiths, but is also the oldest living major tradition on earth, with roots reaching back into prehistory.

A definition of Hinduism, given by the first Vice President of India, who was also a prominent theologian, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, states that Hinduism is not "just a faith", but in itself is related to the union of reason and intuition. Radhakrishnan explicitly states that Hinduism cannot be defined, but is only to be experienced. Similarly some academics suggest that Hinduism can be seen as a category with "fuzzy edges", rather than as a well-defined and rigid entity. Some forms of religious expression are central to Hinduism, while others are not as central but still remain within the category. Based on this, Ferro-Luzzi has developed a 'Prototype Theory approach' to the definition of Hinduism.

Problems with the single definition of what is actually meant by the term 'Hinduism' are often attributed to the fact that Hinduism does not have a single or common historical founder. Hinduism, or as some say 'Hinduisms,' does not have a single system of salvation and has different goals according to each sect or denomination. The forms of Vedic religion are seen not as an alternative to Hinduism, but as its earliest form, and there is little justification for the divisions found in much western scholarly writing between Vedism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism.

A definition of Hinduism is further complicated by the frequent use of the term "faith" as a synonym for "religion". Some academics and many practitioners refer to Hinduism using a native definition, as '''', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", or the "eternal way".

Beliefs

Hinduism refers to a religious mainstream which evolved organically and spread over a large territory marked by significant ethnic and cultural diversity. This mainstream evolved both by innovation from within, and by assimilation of external traditions or cults into the Hindu fold. The result is an enormous variety of religious traditions, ranging from innumerable small, unsophisticated cults to major religious movements with millions of adherents spread over the entire subcontinent. The identification of Hinduism as an independent religion separate from Buddhism or Jainism consequently hinges on the affirmation of its adherents that it is such.

Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to), ''Dharma'' (ethics/duties), '''' (The continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), ''Karma'' (action and subsequent reaction), ''Moksha'' (liberation from ''samsara''), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).

Concept of God

Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, atheism, agnosticism, gnosticism among others; and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed. It is sometimes referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralization.

The Rig Veda, the oldest scripture and the mainstay of Hindu philosophy does not take a restrictive view on the fundamental question of God and the creation of universe. It rather lets the individual seek and discover answers in the quest of life. Nasadiya Sukta (''Creation Hymn'') of the Rig Veda thus says:

Most Hindus believe that the spirit or soul — the true "self" of every person, called the ''ātman'' — is eternal. According to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this ''Atman'' is ultimately indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Hence, these schools are called non-dualist. The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realize that one's ''ātman'' is identical to Brahman, the supreme soul. The Upanishads state that whoever becomes fully aware of the ''ātman'' as the innermost core of one's own self realizes an identity with Brahman and thereby reaches ''moksha'' (liberation or freedom).

The schools of Vedanta and Nyaya states that karma itself proves the existence of God . Nyaya being the school of logic, makes the "logical" inference that the universe is an effect and it ought to have a creator.

Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) understand Brahman as a Supreme Being who possesses personality, and they worship him or her thus, as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. The ''ātman'' is dependent on God, while ''moksha'' depends on love towards God and on God's grace. When God is viewed as the supreme personal being (rather than as the infinite principle), God is called ''Ishvara'' ("The Lord"), ''Bhagavan'' ("The Auspicious One") or ''Parameshwara'' ("The Supreme Lord"). However interpretations of ''Ishvara'' vary, ranging from non-belief in ''Ishvara'' by followers of Mimamsakas, to identifying ''Brahman'' and ''Ishvara'' as one, as in Advaita. In the majority of traditions of Vaishnavism he is Vishnu, God, and the text of Vaishnava scriptures identify this Being as Krishna, sometimes referred to as ''svayam bhagavan''.

In Bhaagawada Gita, for example, God is the sole repository of Gunas (attributes) also, as

Atheistic doctrines dominate Hindu schools like Samkhya and Mimamsa. The '''' of Samkhya argues that the existence of God (''Ishvara'') cannot be proved and hence cannot be admitted to exist. Samkhya argue that an unchanging God cannot be the source of an ever changing world. It says God was a necessary metaphysical assumption demanded by circumstances. Proponents of the school of Mimamsa, which is based on rituals and orthopraxy states that the evidence allegedly proving the existence of God was insufficient. They argue that there is no need to postulate a maker for the world, just as there is no need for an author to compose the Vedas or a God to validate the rituals. Mimamsa considers the Gods named in the Vedas have no existence apart from the ''mantras'' that speak their names. To that regard, the power of the mantras is what is seen as the power of Gods.

Devas and avatars

The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called ''Devas'' (or '''' in feminine form; '''' used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), "the shining ones", which may be translated into English as "gods" or "heavenly beings". The ''devas'' are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and mythological stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a supreme personal god, with many Hindus worshiping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations (ostensibly separate deities) as their '''', or chosen ideal. The choice is a matter of individual preference, and of regional and family traditions.

Hindu epics and the Puranas relate several episodes of the descent of God to Earth in corporeal form to restore ''dharma'' to society and to guide humans to ''moksha.'' Such an incarnation is called an ''Avatar.'' The most prominent avatars are of Vishnu and include Rama (the protagonist in Ramayana) and Krishna (a central figure in the epic Mahabharata).

Karma and samsara

''Karma'' translates literally as action, work, or deed, and can be described as the "moral law of cause and effect". According to the Upanishads an individual, known as the ''jiva-atma'', develops ''sanskaras'' (impressions) from actions, whether physical or mental. The ''linga sharira'', a body more subtle than the physical one but less subtle than the soul, retains impressions, carrying them over into the next life, establishing a unique trajectory for the individual. Thus, the concept of a universal, neutral, and never-failing karma intrinsically relates to reincarnation as well as to one's personality, characteristics, and family. Karma binds together the notions of free will and destiny.

This cycle of ''action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth'' is a continuum called ''samsara''. The notion of reincarnation and karma is a strong premise in Hindu thought. The Bhagavad Gita states:

''Samsara'' provides ephemeral pleasures, which lead people to desire rebirth so as to enjoy the pleasures of a perishable body. However, escaping the world of ''samsara'' through ''moksha'' is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace. It is thought that after several reincarnations, an ''atman'' eventually seeks unity with the cosmic spirit (Brahman/Paramatman).

The ultimate goal of life, referred to as ''moksha'', ''nirvana'' or ''samadhi'', is understood in several different ways: as the realization of one's union with God; as the realization of one's eternal relationship with God; realization of the unity of all existence; perfect unselfishness and knowledge of the Self; as the attainment of perfect mental peace; and as detachment from worldly desires. Such realization liberates one from ''samsara'' and ends the cycle of rebirth. Due to belief in the indestructibility of the soul, death is deemed insignificant with respect to the cosmic self. Thence, a person who has no desire or ambition left and no responsibilities remaining in life or one affected by a terminal disease may embrace death by ''Prayopavesa''.

The exact conceptualization of ''moksha'' differs among the various Hindu schools of thought. For example, Advaita Vedanta holds that after attaining ''moksha'' an ''atman'' no longer identifies itself with an individual but as identical with Brahman in all respects. The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools identify themselves as part of Brahman, and after attaining ''moksha'' expect to spend eternity in a ''loka'' (heaven), in the company of their chosen form of ''Ishvara''. Thus, it is said that the followers of ''dvaita'' wish to "taste sugar", while the followers of Advaita wish to "become sugar".

Objectives of human life

Classical Hindu thought accepts the following objectives of human life, that which is sought as human purpose, aim, or end, is known as the ''s'':

Dharma ("righteousness, ethikos")

Artha ("livelihood, wealth")

Kāma ("sensual pleasure")

Mokṣa ("liberation, freedom (from ''samsara'')")

Yoga

In whatever way a Hindu defines the goal of life, there are several methods (yogas) that sages have taught for reaching that goal. Texts dedicated to Yoga include the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and, as their philosophical and historical basis, the Upanishads. Paths that one can follow to achieve the spiritual goal of life (''moksha'', ''samadhi'' or ''nirvana'') include:

Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion)

Karma Yoga (the path of right action)

Rāja Yoga (the path of meditation)

Jñāna Yoga (the path of wisdom)

An individual may prefer one or some yogas over others, according to his or her inclination and understanding. Some devotional schools teach that ''bhakti'' is the only practical path to achieve spiritual perfection for most people, based on their belief that the world is currently in the ''Kali Yuga'' (one of four epochs which are part of the Yuga cycle). Practice of one yoga does not exclude others. Many schools believe that the different yogas naturally blend into and aid other yogas. For example, the practice of ''jnana yoga'', is thought to inevitably lead to pure love (the goal of ''bhakti yoga''), and vice versa. Someone practicing deep meditation (such as in ''raja yoga'') must embody the core principles of ''karma yoga'', ''jnana yoga'' and ''bhakti yoga'', whether directly or indirectly.

Practices

Hindu practices generally involve seeking awareness of God and sometimes also seeking blessings from Devas. Therefore, Hinduism has developed numerous practices meant to help one think of divinity in the midst of everyday life. Hindus can engage in (worship or veneration), either at home or at a temple. At home, Hindus often create a shrine with icons dedicated to their chosen form(s) of God. Temples are usually dedicated to a primary deity along with associated subordinate deities though some commemorate multiple deities. Visiting temples is not obligatory, and many visit temples only during religious festivals. Hindus perform their worship through icons (murtis). The icon serves as a tangible link between the worshiper and God. The image is often considered a manifestation of God, since God is immanent. The Padma Purana states that the '''' is not to be thought of as mere stone or wood but as a manifest form of the Divinity. A few Hindu sects, such as the , do not believe in worshiping God through icons.

Hinduism has a developed system of symbolism and iconography to represent the sacred in art, architecture, literature and worship. These symbols gain their meaning from the scriptures, mythology, or cultural traditions. The syllable ''Om'' (which represents the ''Parabrahman'') and the Swastika sign (which symbolizes auspiciousness) have grown to represent Hinduism itself, while other markings such as ''tilaka'' identify a follower of the faith. Hinduism associates many symbols, which include the lotus, ''chakra'' and ''veena'', with particular deities.

Mantras are invocations, praise and prayers that through their meaning, sound, and chanting style help a devotee focus the mind on holy thoughts or express devotion to God/the deities. Many devotees perform morning ablutions at the bank of a sacred river while chanting the ''Gayatri Mantra'' or ''Mahamrityunjaya'' mantras. The epic Mahabharata extols ''Japa'' (ritualistic chanting) as the greatest duty in the Kali Yuga (what Hindus believe to be the current age). Many adopt ''Japa'' as their primary spiritual practice.

Rituals

The vast majority of Hindus engage in religious rituals on a daily basis. Most Hindus observe religious rituals at home. but observation of rituals greatly vary among regions, villages, and individuals. Devout Hindus perform daily chores such as worshiping at dawn after bathing (usually at a family shrine, and typically includes lighting a lamp and offering foodstuffs before the images of deities), recitation from religious scripts, singing devotional hymns, meditation, chanting mantras, reciting scriptures etc. A notable feature in religious ritual is the division between purity and pollution. Religious acts presuppose some degree of impurity or defilement for the practitioner, which must be overcome or neutralised before or during ritual procedures. Purification, usually with water, is thus a typical feature of most religious action. Other characteristics include a belief in the efficacy of sacrifice and concept of merit, gained through the performance of charity or good works, that will accumulate over time and reduce sufferings in the next world. Vedic rites of fire-oblation (''yajna'') are now only occasional practices, although they are highly revered in theory. In Hindu wedding and burial ceremonies, however, the ''yajña'' and chanting of Vedic mantras are still the norm. The rituals, upacharas, change with time. For instance, in the past few hundred years some rituals, such as sacred dance and music offerings in the standard Sodasa Upacharas set prescribed by the Agama Shastra, were replaced by the offerings of rice and sweets.

Occasions like birth, marriage, and death involve what are often elaborate sets of religious customs. In Hinduism, life-cycle rituals include ''Annaprashan'' (a baby's first intake of solid food), ''Upanayanam'' ("sacred thread ceremony" undergone by upper-caste children at their initiation into formal education) and ''Śrāddha'' (ritual of treating people to a meal in return for prayers to 'God' to give peace to the soul of the deceased). For most people in India, the betrothal of the young couple and the exact date and time of the wedding are matters decided by the parents in consultation with astrologers. On death, cremation is considered obligatory for all except ''sanyasis'', ''hijra'', and children under five. Cremation is typically performed by wrapping the corpse in cloth and burning it on a pyre.

Pilgrimage

Following pilgrimage sites are most famous amongst Hindu devotees:

Char Dham (Famous Four Pilgrimage sites): The four holy sites Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Badrinath (or alternatively the Himalayan towns of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) compose the ''Char Dham'' (''four abodes'') pilgrimage circuit.

Kumbh Mela: The ''Kumbh Mela'' (the "pitcher festival") is one of the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages that is held every four years; the location is rotated among Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain.

Old Holy cities as per Puranic Texts: Varanasi formerly known as Kashi, Allahabad formerly known as Prayag, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, and Ayodhya.

Major Temple cities: Puri, which hosts a major Vaishnava Jagannath temple and Rath Yatra celebration; Katra, home to the Vaishno Devi temple; Three comparatively recent temples of fame and huge pilgrimage are Shirdi, home to [Sai_Baba_of_Shirdi]], Tirumala - Tirupati, home to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple; and Sabarimala,where Swami Ayyappan is worshipped.

Shakti Peethas: Another important set of pilgrimages are the ''Shakti Peethas'', where the Mother Goddess is worshipped, the two principal ones being ''Kalighat'' and ''Kamakhya''.

While there are different yet similar pilgrimage routes in different parts of India, all are respected equally well, according to the universality of Hinduism.

Pilgrimage is not mandatory in Hinduism, though many adherents undertake them

Festivals

Hindu festivals (Sanskrit: ''Utsava''; literally: "to lift higher") are considered as symbolic rituals that beautifully weave individual and social life to dharma. Hinduism has many festivals throughout the year. The Hindu calendar usually prescribe their dates.

The festivals typically celebrate events from Hindu mythology, often coinciding with seasonal changes. There are festivals which are primarily celebrated by specific sects or in certain regions of the Indian subcontinent.

Some widely observed Hindu festivals are

Maha Shivaratri

Pongal

Holi

Vasant Panchami

Thaipusam

Ram Navami

Krishna Janmastami

Ganesh Chaturthi

Shigmo

Dussera

Durga Puja

Diwali

Gudi Padwa

Ugadi

Bihu

Bonalu

Rath Yatra

Guru Purnima

Raksha Bandhan

Onam

Gowri Habba

Chhath

Vishu

Scriptures

Hinduism is based on "the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons in different times". The scriptures were transmitted orally in verse form to aid memorization, for many centuries before they were written down. Over many centuries, sages refined the teachings and expanded the canon. In post-Vedic and current Hindu belief, most Hindu scriptures are not typically interpreted literally. More importance is attached to the ethics and metaphorical meanings derived from them. Most sacred texts are in Sanskrit. The texts are classified into two classes: ''Shruti'' and ''Smriti''.

Shruti

''Shruti'' (lit: that which is heard) primarily refers to the ''Vedas'', which form the earliest record of the Hindu scriptures. While many Hindus revere the Vedas as eternal truths revealed to ancient sages (''s''), some devotees do not associate the creation of the Vedas with a god or person. They are thought of as the laws of the spiritual world, which would still exist even if they were not revealed to the sages. Hindus believe that because the spiritual truths of the Vedas are eternal, they continue to be expressed in new ways.

There are four ''Vedas'' (called ''-, Sāma-, Yajus- ''and ''Atharva-''). The ''Rigveda'' is the first and most important Veda. Each Veda is divided into four parts: the primary one, the ''Veda proper'', being the '''', which contains sacred ''mantras''. The other three parts form a three-tier ensemble of commentaries, usually in prose and are believed to be slightly later in age than the ''''. These are: the '''', '''', and the ''Upanishads''. The first two parts were subsequently called the '''' (ritualistic portion), while the last two form the '''' (knowledge portion). While the ''Vedas'' focus on rituals, the ''Upanishads'' focus on spiritual insight and philosophical teachings, and discuss Brahman and reincarnation.

A well known shloka from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is:

::ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।। ::मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय । ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्ति ।। – बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् 1.3.28. IAST:

:om asato mā sadgamaya | tamaso mā jyotirgamaya || :mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya | om śānti śānti śānti || – bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣada 1.3.28 Translation: :Lead Us From the Unreal To the Real | :Lead Us From Darkness To Light || :Lead Us From Death To Immortality | :OM Let There Be Peace Peace Peace.|| – Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.

Smritis

Hindu texts other than the ''Shrutis'' are collectively called the ''Smritis'' (memory). The most notable of the smritis are the epics, which consist of the '''' and the ''''. The '''' is an integral part of the ''Mahabharata'' and one of the most popular sacred texts of Hinduism. It contains philosophical teachings from ''Krishna'', an incarnation of ''Vishnu'', told to the prince Arjuna on the eve of a great war. The '''', spoken by Krishna, is described as the essence of the ''Vedas.'' However Gita, sometimes called ''Gitopanishad'', is more often placed in the Shruti, category, being Upanishadic in content. ''s'', which illustrate Hindu ideas through vivid narratives come under smritis. Other texts include '''', the ''Tantras'', the ''Yoga Sutras'', ''Tirumantiram'', ''Shiva Sutras'' and the ''Hindu ''. A more controversial text, the ''Manusmriti'', is a prescriptive lawbook which lays the societal codes of social stratification which later evolved into the Indian caste system.

A well known verse from Bhagavad Gita describing a concept in Karma Yoga is explained as follows :

Demographics

Hinduism is a major religion in India and according to 2001 census, Hinduism was followed by around 80% of population in India. Other significant populations are found in Nepal (23 million), Bangladesh (14 million) and the Indonesian island of Bali (3.3 million).

Countries with the greatest proportion of Hindus from Hinduism by country ():

# 86.5% # 82% # 54% # 28% # 27.9% # 25% # 22.5% # 20% # 15% # 9% # 7.2% # 6.7% # 6.3% # 6.25% # 6% # 5% # 4% # 3% # 2.3% # 2.1%

Demographically, Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.

Society

Denominations

Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many practising Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular denomination. However, academics categorize contemporary Hinduism into four major denominations: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism. The denominations differ primarily in the god worshipped as the Supreme One and in the traditions that accompany worship of that god.

Vaishnavas worship ''Vishnu'' as the supreme God; Shaivites worship ''Shiva'' as the supreme; Shaktas worship ''Shakti'' (power) personified through a female divinity or Mother Goddess, ''Devi''; while Smartas believe in the essential oneness of five (panchadeva) or six (Shanmata, as Tamil Hindus add Skanda) deities as personifications of the Supreme.

The Western conception of what Hinduism is has been defined by the Smarta view; many Hindus, who may not understand or follow Advaita philosophy, in contemporary Hinduism, invariably follow the Shanmata belief worshiping many forms of God. One commentator, noting the influence of the Smarta tradition, remarked that although many Hindus may not strictly identify themselves as Smartas but, by adhering to Advaita Vedanta as a foundation for non-sectarianism, are indirect followers.

Other denominations like Ganapatya (the cult of ''Ganesha'') and Saura (Sun worship) are not so widespread.

There are movements that are not easily placed in any of the above categories, such as Swami Dayananda Saraswati's ''Arya Samaj'', which rejects image worship and veneration of multiple deities. It focuses on the ''Vedas'' and the Vedic fire sacrifices ('''').

The Tantric traditions have various sects, as Banerji observes: }}

Ashramas

Traditionally the life of a Hindu is divided into four ''s'' (phases or stages; unrelated meanings include monastery). The first part of one's life, ''Brahmacharya,'' the stage as a student, is spent in celibate, controlled, sober and pure contemplation under the guidance of a Guru, building up the mind for spiritual knowledge. ''Grihastha'' is the householder's stage, in which one marries and satisfies '''' and ''artha'' in one's married and professional life respectively (see the goals of life). The moral obligations of a Hindu householder include supporting one's parents, children, guests and holy figures. '','' the retirement stage, is gradual detachment from the material world. This may involve giving over duties to one's children, spending more time in religious practices and embarking on holy pilgrimages. Finally, in '''', the stage of asceticism, one renounces all worldly attachments to secludedly find the Divine through detachment from worldly life and peacefully shed the body for Moksha.

Monasticism

Some Hindus choose to live a monastic life (Sannyāsa) in pursuit of liberation or another form of spiritual perfection. Monastics commit themselves to a life of simplicity, celibacy, detachment from worldly pursuits, and the contemplation of God. A Hindu monk is called a ''sanyāsī, sādhu'', or ''swāmi''. A female renunciate is called a ''sanyāsini''. Renunciates receive high respect in Hindu society because their outward renunciation of selfishness and worldliness serves as an inspiration to householders who strive for ''mental'' renunciation. Some monastics live in monasteries, while others wander from place to place, trusting in God alone to provide for their needs. It is considered a highly meritorious act for a householder to provide sādhus with food or other necessaries. Sādhus strive to treat all with respect and compassion, whether a person may be poor or rich, good or wicked, and to be indifferent to praise, blame, pleasure, and pain.

Varnas

Hindu society has traditionally been categorized into four classes, called ''Varnas'' (''Sanskrit'': "colour, form, appearance"):

the ''Brahmins'': teachers and priests;

the ''Kshatriyas'': warriors, nobles, and kings;

the ''Vaishyas'': farmers, merchants, and businessmen; and

the ''Shudras'': servants and labourers.

Hindus and scholars debate whether the so-called ''caste system'' is an integral part of Hinduism sanctioned by the scriptures or an outdated social custom. Among the scriptures, the ''Varna'' system is mentioned sparingly and descriptively (i.e., not prescriptive); apart from a single mention in the late Rigvedic ''Purusha sukta'', the rigid division into ''varnas'' appears to be post-Vedic, appearing in classical texts from the Maurya period. The ''Bhagavad Gītā'' (4.13) states that the four '''' divisions are created by God, and the '''' categorizes the different castes. However, at the same time, the ''Gītā'' says that one's '''' is to be understood from one's personal qualities and one's work, not one's birth. Some mobility and flexibility within the varnas challenge allegations of social discrimination in the caste system, as has been pointed out by several sociologists.

Many social reformers, including Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar, criticized caste discrimination. The religious teacher Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886) taught that }}

Ahimsa, vegetarianism and other food customs

Hindus advocate the practice of '''' (non-violence) and respect for all life because divinity is believed to permeate all beings, including plants and non-human animals. The term '''' appears in the Upanishads, the epic Mahabharata and '''' is the first of the five ''Yamas'' (vows of self-restraint) in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.

In accordance with '''', many Hindus embrace vegetarianism to respect higher forms of life. Estimates of the number of lacto vegetarians in India (includes adherents of all religions) vary between 20% and 42%. The food habits vary with the community and region, for example some castes having fewer vegetarians and coastal populations relying on seafood. Some avoid meat only on specific holy days. Observant Hindus who do eat meat almost always abstain from beef. The cow in Hindu society is traditionally identified as a caretaker and a maternal figure, and Hindu society honours the cow as a symbol of unselfish giving. Cow-slaughter is legally banned in almost all states of India.

There are many Hindu groups that have continued to abide by a strict vegetarian diet in modern times. One example is the movement known as ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), whose followers “not only abstain from meat, fish, and fowl, but also avoid certain vegetables that are thought to have negative properties, such as onion and garlic.” A second example is the Swaminarayan Movement. The followers of this Hindu group also staunchly adhere to a diet that is devoid of meat, eggs, and seafood.

Vegetarianism is propagated by the Yajur Veda and it is recommended for a ''satvic'' (purifying) lifestyle. Thus, another reason that dietary purity is so eminent within Hinduism is because “the idea that food reflects the general qualities of nature: purity, energy, inertia” It follows, then, that a healthy diet should be one that promotes purity within an individual.

Based on this reasoning, Hindus should avoid or minimize the intake of foods that do not promote purity. These foods include onion and garlic, which are regarded as rajasic (a state which is characterized by “tension and overbearing demeanor”) foods, and meat, which is regarded as tamasic (a state which is characterized by “anger, greed, and jealousy”).

Some Hindus from certain sects - generally Shakta, certain Shudra and Kshatriya castes and certain Eastern Indian and East Asian regions; practise animal sacrifice (''bali''). Although most Hindus, including the majority of Vaishnava and Shaivite Hindus abhor it.

Conversion

Concepts of conversion, evangelization, and proselytization are absent from Hindu texts and have never played a significant role in practice. Early in its history, in the absence of other competing religions, Hindus considered everyone they came across as Hindus and expected everyone they met to be Hindus.

Hindus today continue to be influenced by historical ideas of acceptability of conversion. Hence, many Hindus continue to believe that Hinduism is an identity that can only be had from birth, while many others continue to believe that anyone who follows Hindu beliefs and practices is a Hindu, and many believe in some form of both theories. However, as a reaction to perceived and actual threat of evangelization, proselytization, and conversion activities of other major religions most modern Hindus are opposed to the idea of conversion from (any) one religion to (any) other per se.

Hindus in Western countries generally accept and welcome willing converts, whereas in India acceptance of willing converts is becoming more common. With the rise of Hindu revivalist movements, reconversions to Hinduism have also risen. Reconversions are well accepted since conversion out of Hinduism is not recognized. Conversion into Hinduism through marriage is well accepted and often expected to enable the non-Hindu partner to fully participate in their spiritual, religious, and cultural roles within the larger Hindu family and society.

There is no formal process for converting to Hinduism, although in many traditions a ritual called ''dīkshā'' ("initiation") marks the beginning of spiritual life. A ritual called ''shuddhi'' ("purification") sometimes marks the return to spiritual life after reconversion. Most Hindu sects do not seek converts, as they believe that the goals of spiritual life can be attained through any religion, as long as it is practiced sincerely. However, some Hindu sects and affiliates such as Arya Samaj, Saiva Siddhanta Church, BAPS, and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness accept those who have a desire to follow Hinduism.

In general, Hindu view of religious freedom is not based on the freedom to proselytize, but the right to retain one's religion and not be subject to proselytization. Hindu leaders are advocating for changing the existing formulation of the freedom of religion clause in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since it favours religions which proselytize.

See also

;Hinduism

Atheism in Hinduism

Criticism of Hinduism

Hindu

Hindu calendar

Hindu deities

Hindu denominations

Hindu mythology

Hindu reform movements

Hinduism by country

Jagran

List of Hindu temples

List of notable Hindus

List of related articles

;Related systems and religions

Ayyavazhi

Ayyavazhi and Hinduism

Buddhism

Buddhism and Hinduism

Christianity and Hinduism

Eastern philosophy

Hellenism and Hinduism

Hindu philosophy

Hinduism and other religions

Hinduism and Sikhism

Indian religions

Islam and Hinduism

Jainism

Proto-Indo-European religion

Proto-Indo-Iranian religion

Sikhism

Verhudtbrahma

Zoroastrianism

;Hinduism in popular culture

Hinduism in Avatar (2009 film)

;Other

United States military chaplain symbols

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Hinduism Resources for scholars on Academic Room

Resources for Scholars and Students

All About Hinduism by Swami Sivananda (pdf)

Heart of Hinduism: An overview of Hindu traditions

Information on Hinduism or Santana dharma

Ethical Democracy Journal - Notes on Hinduism

Religious Tolerance page on Hinduism

;Audio'

Paper on Hinduism by Swami Vivekananda - Presented at ''World Parliament of Religion'' in 1893 (Text + Audio Version)

Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Lectures and seminars in MP3 audio format by the OCHS as reference material for scholars and students.

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Coordinates	40°20′17″N79°42′39″N
name	Prabhu Deva
birthname	Prabhu Deva Sundaram
birth date	April 03, 1973
birth place	Mysore, Karnataka, India
yearsactive	1987—present
occupation	Film actor, director, choreographer
notable role	}}

Prabhu Deva (; born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dancer, choreographer, film actor and director. He has performed in a wide range of dancing styles.

Early life and career

Prabhu Deva, was born in Mysore, Karnataka and grew up in Alwarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.He belongs to the Lingayat community He was inspired by his father, Mugur Sundar (known as Sundaram Master), who was a dance master for popular South Indian movies. He took dancing as his career and passion, learning Indian dance forms such as Bharatanatyam as well as Western dance styles. He is widely considered to be one of Indian cinema's greatest dancers and choreographers, and has revolutionized some of the aspects of dance and choregraphy in modern popular indian cinema.

His brothers Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad are also established South Indian choreographers. From choreography he went on to establish himself as an actor. His dance steps helped him become a star in Kollywood (the Tamil film industry). His first movie as a dance director was ''Vetri Vizha''. He has since choreographed over 100 movies. Before starting as a full-time actor, he appeared as a background dancer for a song in the Tamil film ''Agni Natchathiram''. His first role as a hero was in ''Indhu'' (1994) with actress Roja. Deva's success resulted largely from his dancing. In 1999, Deva, Shobhana and A. R. Rahman performed with a Tamil cinema dancing troupe at the "Michael Jackson and Friends" concert in Munich, Germany. He has a significant fan following in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries. He acted alongside his brothers in the movie ''123''. As of 2010, he serves as chairman and director of a dance academy in Singapore named Prabhudeva's Dance Academy.

Personal life

Prabhu Deva was married to Ramlath for 15 years and had three children, the eldest(Basavaraju/Vishal) of whom died in 2008 after suffering from cancer. During the making of ''Villu'' (2009), reports suggested that Prabhu Deva was having an affair with actress Nayantara. This was eventually confirmed by Nayantara, who also stated their intention to marry one another. After a year-long court-case filed by Ramlath against her husband and Nayantara, she finally accepted Prabhu Deva's request for divorce in 2010. After a lot of consistent denial for the divorce, it was officially sanctioned on 2nd July, 2011.

Other appearances

Prabhu Deva was also noticed when he made brief appearances in solo items such as "Rajathi Raja" in ''Agni Natchathiram'' (1988), "April Mayile" in ''Idhayam'' (1991), "Lallaku Doldapi Ma" in ''Suriyan'' (1992), "Chinna Rasave" in ''Walter Vetrivel'' (1993), and "Chikku Bukku Rayile" in ''Gentleman'' (1993).

He danced with Madhuri Dixit for the song "Ke Sera Sera" in the movie ''Pukar''.

He acted along with Lawrence Raghavendra in the hit movie ''Style''.

He danced with Apache Indian in the song "No Problem" in the film ''Love Birds''.

He made a special appearance in ''Pokkiri'' (which was directed by himself) with Vijay in the song "Aadungada".

He also danced in the film ''Abra Ka Dabra'' for the song "Om Sh".

He also danced in the Nana Patekar - Karisma Kapoor film ''Shakti'' for a song.

He danced with Vijay in the movie ''Villu'' for the song "Hey Rama". This was a guest appearance. ''Villu'' was also directed by him..

He danced with Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Govinda for a song in the 2009 movie ''Wanted''.

Awards

He is a two-time winner of the National Film Award for Best Choreography for his work on the film ''Minsaara Kanavu'' (1997) in Tamil and ''Lakshya'' (2004) in Hindi, as well as a Filmfare Best Choreography Award (Telugu) for the Telugu film ''Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana'' (2005) and Filmfare Award Best Coreography for film ''Lakshya'' (2004).

In 2001, he was nominated for the Star Screen Award for Best Choreography, for choreographing the dance sequences in the Hindi film ''Pukar'' (2000).

In 2005, he won the Star Screen Award for Best Choreography, the Filmfare Best Choreography Award, and the National Film Award for Best Choreography, for choreographing the dance sequences in the Hindi film ''Lakshya''.

In 2007, he won a Vijay Award for Favourite Director and a Mathubhumi Award for Best Director in Tamil for the film ''Pokkiri''.

He has been honoured with a life membership at the International Film and Television Research Centre of the Asian Academy of Film & Television by Sandeep Marwah.

Benny Lava

On 18 August 2008, a music video for the song "Kalluri Vaanil" from the Indian-Tamil movie ''Pennin Manathai Thottu'' was uploaded to YouTube by Mike Sutton (Youtube user Buffalax). The video was created as a soramimi, edited to include incorrect English subtitles that phonetically approximate the original Tamil lyrics.

The name Benny Lava comes from Sutton's homophonic translation of the Tamil lead line "''Kalluri vaanil kaayndha nilaavo''?" as "''My loony bun is fine, Benny Lava!''" (original meaning: "The moon (metaphor for 'my love') that scorched the college campus"). The video led other YouTube users to refer to Prabhu Deva as "Benny Lava".

Reactions to the "Kalluri Vaanil" soramimi were mixed. Some felt that the video was done in "good fun" while others worried that their culture was being mocked. The video was described by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as a "Catchy melody, a battalion of back-up dancers, colorful costumes, impressive vocal gymnastics, jaw-dropping choreography this music video has it all. And if those aren't enough, the person who uploaded this vid also provided subtitles so you can sing along. They aren't the real lyrics though, but just what they sound in English, resulting in a lot of nonsense." The music video was featured on ''The Colbert Report'' on 4 December 2008 and appeared on the Heavy Metal documentary ''Global Metal''. As of at least April 1, 2011, the original video has been removed because of the disabling of Buffalax's Youtube account.

Filmography

As actor

1988 ''Idhayam (film) ''Suriyan'' ''Gentleman (film) ''Indhu'' Prabhu ''Raasaiyya'' ''Mr. Romeo'' Arun ''VIP (film) Deva ''Naam Iruvar Nammaku Iruvar'' Sundaralingam ''Ninaivirukkum Varai'' Kanna Srininvasa Murthy ''Vanathai Pola'' Ganesan James Sunil Prabhu ''Nila Kaalam'' Anbu Sathyam Deva ''H2O (2002 film) Thiru Pawan Thirupathy Rakshasha ''Alaudin'' ''Engal Anna'' Bujji ''Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana'' ''Style (2006 film) Sharat ''Pokkiri'' ''Vaana (film) ''Villu (film) ''Pa Ra Pazhanisami'' ''Urumi (film) Porcheziyan

Year !! Film !! Role !! Language !! Notes
	|	''Agni Natchathiram''		Tamil	Special appearance
	1991	Idhayam'' ||		Tamil	Special appearance
	1992	|		Tamil	Special appearance
rowspan="2"	1993	Gentleman'' ||		Tamil	Special appearance
''Walter Vetrivel''	|	Tamil	Special appearance
rowspan="2"	1994	|	Pattasu	Tamil
''Kaadhalan''	|	Tamil
	1995	|	Raasaiyya	Tamil
rowspan="2"	1996	|	Romeo,Madras	Tamil
''Love Birds (film)	Love Birds''	|	Tamil
rowspan="2"	1997	VIP'' ||	Guru	Tamil
''Minsara Kanavu''	|	Tamil
rowspan="3"	1998	|	Prabhu	Tamil
''Love Story 1999''	|	Telugu
''Kaathala Kaathala''	|	Tamil
rowspan="3"	1999	|	Janakiraman (Jonny)	Tamil
''Suyamvaram''	|	Tamil
''Time (1999 film)	Time''	|	Tamil
rowspan="6"	2000	|	Selvakumar	Tamil
''Eazhaiyin Sirippil''	|	Tamil
''Pukar (2000 film)	Pukar''	|	Hindi	Special appearance
''James Pandu''	|	Tamil
''Pennin Manathai Thottu''	|	Tamil
''Doubles (2000 film)	Doubles''	|	Tamil
rowspan="4"	2001	|		Tamil
''Ullam Kollai Poguthae''	|	Tamil
''Alli Thandha Vaanam''	|	Tamil
''Manadhai Thirudivittai''	|	Tamil
rowspan="9"	2002	H2O'' ||	Vairamuthu	Kannada
''Charlie Chaplin (film)	Charlie Chaplin''	|	Tamil
''Santosham''	|	Telugu
''123 (film)	One Two Three''	|	Tamil and kannada
''Manasella Neene''	|	Kannada
''Baba (2002 film)	Baba''	|	Tamil	Special appearance
''Agni Varsha''	|	Hindi
''Shakti - The Power''	|	Hindi	Special appearance
''Thotti Gang''	|	Telugu
rowspan="2"	2003	|	Alaudin	Tamil
''O Radha Iddharu Krishnula Pelli''	|	Telugu
rowspan="4"	2004	|	Kannan	Tamil
''Tapana''	|	Telugu
''Andalu Dongale Dorikithe''	|	Telugu
''Aabra Ka Daabra''	|	Hindi	Special appearance
	2005	|		Telugu	Cameo appearance
rowspan="3"	2006	Style'' ||	Ganesh	Telugu
''Chukkallo Chandrudu''	|	Telugu
''Pournami''	|	Telugu	Cameo appearance
rowspan="2"	2007	|		Tamil	Cameo appearance
''Shankardada Zindabad''	|	Telugu	Cameo appearance
rowspan="2"	2008	Vaana'' ||		Telugu	Special appearance
''Michael Madana Kamaraju''	|	Telugu
rowspan="2"	2009	Villu'' ||		Tamil	Cameo appearance
''Wanted Dead and Alive	Wanted''	|	Hindi	Cameo appearance
	2010	|		Tamil	Cameo appearance
rowspan="3"	2011	Urumi'' ||	Vavvali	Malayalam
''Engeyum Kaadhal''	|	Tamil	Special appearance
''Kalavadiya Pozhudugal''	|	Tamil	Post-production

As choreographer

''Vetri Vizha'' ''Raja Vikramarka'' ''Idhayam (film) ''Suriyan'' ''Chandra Mukhi'' ''Kadhalan'' ''Bombay (film) ''Minsara Kanavu'' ''Pukar (2000 film) ''Shakti – The Power ''Khushi (2003 film) ''Lakshya (film) ''No Entry'' ''Sillunu Oru Kaadhal'' ''Sivaji (film) ''Aegan ''Wanted (2009 film) ''Bodyguard (2010 film)

colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"	As choreographer
! Year !! Title !! Language !! Notes
1988	''Agni Nakshatram''	Tamil
1989	|	Tamil
rowspan="2"	1990	|	Telugu
''Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari''	Telugu
rowspan="5"	1991	Idhayam'' ||	Tamil
''Thalapathi''	Tamil
''Rowdy plludu''	Telugu
''Kshana Kshanam''	Telugu
''Gang Leader''	Telugu
rowspan="5"	1992	|	Tamil
''Gharana Mogudu''	Telugu
''Dharma Kshetram''	Telugu
''Johnnie Walker (film)	Johnny Walker''	Malayalam
''Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj''	Hindi
rowspan="8"	1993	|	Hindi
''Gumrah (1993 film)	Gumraah''	Hindi
''Mechanic Alludu''	Telugu
''Gaayam''	Telugu
''Govindha Govindha''	Telugu
''Thiruda Thiruda''	Tamil
''Gentleman (film)	Gentleman''	Tamil
''Walter Vetrivel''	Tamil
1994	|	Tamil
1995	Bombay'' ||	Tamil
1997	|	Tamil	Won National Film Award for Best Choreography.
rowspan="2"	2000	Pukar'' ||	Hindi	Star Screen Awards>Star Screen Award for Best Choreography.
''Pennin Manathai Thottu''	Tamil
rowspan="3"	2002	Shakti: The Power'' ||	Hindi
''Baba (2002 film)	Baba''	Tamil
''Agni Varsha''	Hindi
2003	Khushi'' ||	Hindi
rowspan="2"	2004	Lakshya'' ||	Hindi	National Film Award for Best Choreography. Won Filmfare Best Choreography Award. Won Star Screen Awards>Star Screen Award for Best Choreography.
''Samba (film)	Samba''	Telugu
rowspan="2"	2005	|	Hindi
''Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana''	Telugu
rowspan="3"	2006	|	Tamil
''Don: The Chase Begins Again''	Hindi
''Pournami''	Telugu
rowspan="2"	2007	Sivaji: The Boss'' ||	Tamil
''Pokkiri''	Tamil
2008	|	Tamil	Hey Sala Song only
2009	Wanted ||	Hindi
rowspan="3"	2010	Bodyguard'' ||	Malayalam
''Enthiran''	Tamil
''Engeyum Kaadhal''	Tamil

As director

Siddharth Narayan ''Pournami'' ''Pokkiri'' Chiranjeevi, Karishma Kotak ''Villu (film)Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia Azmi ''Engeyum Kaadhal'' Vishal Krishna, Sameera Reddy ''Rowdy Rathore''

colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"	As director
! Year !! Film !! Cast!! Language !! Notes
2005	''Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana''	Siddharth, Trisha Krishnan ||	Telugu	Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu)Filmfare Best Choreography Award (South)
2006	|	Prabhas, Trisha Krishnan	Telugu
rowspan="2"	2007	| Vijay, Asin ||	Tamil	Winner, Vijay Award for Favourite Director
''Shankardada Zindabad''	|	Telugu
rowspan="2"	2009	Villu'' ||	Joseph Vijay>Vijay, Nayanthara	Tamil
''Wanted (2009 film)	Wanted''	|	Hindi
rowspan="2"	2011	|	Jayam Ravi, Hansika Motwani	Tamil
''Vedi (film)	Vedi''	|	Tamil	Filming
2011	|	Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha	Hindi	Filming

References

External links

Category:1973 births Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Indian actors Category:Indian dancers Category:Indian choreographers Category:Indian film choreographers Category:Indian film directors Category:Internet memes Category:Kannada film actors Category:Kannada people Category:Living people Category:People from Mysore Category:Tamil film actors Category:Tamil film directors Category:Telugu film directors Category:Viral videos Category:Non Malayali actors acted in Malayalam-language films

es:Prabhu Deva fr:Prabhu Deva Sundaram ko:프라부 디바 it:Prabhu Deva Sundaram lv:Prabhu Deva ml:പ്രഭുദേവ pl:Prabhu Deva pt:Prabhu Deva fi:Prabhu Deva ta:பிரபுதேவா wuu:普拉部地伐 (演员)

Jai Ganesh (Tamil: ஜெய்கணேஷ்) is a veteran Tamil film actor, who mostly acts in supporting roles and is perhaps best known for his role in films like ''Aval Oru Thodar Kathai'' and ''Attukara Alamelu''. His most popular roles have been as a supporting actor or even as a villain in films like ''Thaayillamal Naanillai'', ''Athisaya Piravi'' and few more. He was born in 1946.

He was introduced into the film industry by director K. Balachander in ''Aval Oru Thodar Kathai''. From then on, he acted in many films as hero and also as character actor. Some of his famous films in 70s are ''Neeya'', ''Pilot Premnath'', ''Vattathukkul Sathuram'' and ''Vanakathukuriya Kathaliyae''.

Jai Ganesh died of cancer on February 11, 2001 at the age of 54. He acted in lot of movies as hero as well as in supporting roles with famous actors like Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Sivakumar, Muthuraman, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj and Karthik Muthuraman.

Notable Filmography

''Aval Oru Thodar Kathai'' (1974)

''Attukara Alamelu'' (1977)

''Neeya'' (1979)

''Raja Chinna Roja'' (1989)

''Athisaya Piravi (1990)

''Maharaasan'' (1991)

''Murai Maman'' (1995)

''Poove Unakkaga'' (1996)

''Ullathai Allitha'' (1996)

''Unnai Thedi'' (1999)

References

Category:Tamil actors Category:Indian actors Category:1946 births Category:Indian film actors Category:Living people Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Coordinates	40°20′17″N79°42′39″N
name	Suresh Wadkar
background	solo_singer
instrument	Vocalist
genre	film music (playback singing), Indian classical music
occupation	Singer
years active	1976–present }}

Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (, born 1954) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films.He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri Films.

Early life

Suresh Wadkar was born in Kolhapur, India. At the age of 8, he began acquiring basic music education from Jialal Vasant. He soon impressed his guru with the quality of his voice. He began performing on the stage at a very early age.

Music Teaching life

Back in 1968, when Suresh Wadkar was barely 13, Acharya Jialal Vasant entrusted him with a student to initiate in Tabla. A year later, he was given the responsibility of a group of youngsters to teach vocal classical. Our system of education in music makes it mandatory to teach before you appear for your graduation in music through Prayag Sangit Samiti, because there “Prabhakar” certificate is equivalent to B. Ed. and it authorizes you to teach professionally. Guruji made every child studying for Senior Diploma, to sit in the class of 1st year with an experienced teacher and learn the process of “teaching”. Suresh successfully completed his “Prabhakar” and joined “Arya Vidya Mandir, Mumbai as a music teacher. A lot of famous “stars” of today had the opportunity to learn from him.

Acharya Jialal Vasant, announced during his felicitation function organized by his students on May 1985. He said, “We continuously talk about the benefits one enjoys when one is blessed with a good Guru. But let me tell you, that every Guru looks for at least one student, who can take his torch forward. I have been, I must say, very fortunate to get ‘the’ student; I have always looked for in Suresh. I am fully confident that he will leave no stone unturned to accomplish what I desire the most – to attain excellence both as a singer & a teacher. I feel that my mission is fulfilled.”

He has a music school in Mumbai, India (www.ajivasan.com) and New Jersey/New York, USA (www.sureshwadkarmusic.com) where methodical training is given to students.

Suresh Wadkar added a new chapter in his Music life when he started the First Online Music teaching school "SWAMA" (Suresh Wadkar Ajivasan Music Academy) under Ace Open University.

Singing career

Though groomed for Indian classical music, he entered the Sur-Singar competition in 1976. Wadkar won the competition which was judged by composers from the Indian film industry including Jaidev. Jaidev later offered him the song "Seene Mein Jalan" in the film ''Gaman'' (released in 1978). He also performed in the film ''Paheli'' (released 1977).

At the time, Lata Mangeshkar was so impressed with his voice that she strongly recommended him to film personalities including Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Khayyam and Kalyanji-Anandji. Laxmikant-Pyarelal, impressed with his voice, soon recorded a duet with Lata "Chal Chameli Bagh Mein" for ''Krodhi'' (released in 1981). Soon after, he was given the opportunity to perform for songs in ''Hum Paanch'', ''Pyaasa Sawan'' ("Megha re Megha Re") and above all, his turning point in films - Raj Kapoor's ''Prem Rog'' (released in 1982).

Wadkar also produced the film ''Tanman.com''. He was a judge on the Indian TV singing show ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs International'' and at the 2005 Sanjeet Awards.

Suresh Wadkar has for the first time sung a song in the upcoming Tamil film ''Kanden Kadhalai''. This film is an adaptation of the Hindi Blockbuster ''Jab We Met''. The song is a ghazal type song called "Naan Mozhi Arindhaen".

His voice has been acknowledged to have a quality for devotional songs. He has sung numerous devotional songs in various languages.

In a recent program, Suresh Wadkar gave credit to Ravindra Jain for shaping his singing career.

Marathi Music career

Suresh Wadkar has worked with some of the top class Marathi music directors like Pt.Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Sudhir Phadke, Shrinivas Khale, Shridhar Phadke, Vasant Desai, Ashok Patki, Anil-Arun etc. Some of his notable marathi songs are:

Dayaghana with pt.Hridaynath Mangeshkar

Kaal dehasi ala khau with Shrinivas Khale

tula pahile mi with Shridhar Phadke

Omkar swaroopa

Pahile Na Mi Tula

Stage Performances

Suresh Wadkar often performs with other legendary artistes such as Zakir Hussain, Shrinivas Khale, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, and Kavita Krishnamurthy for numerous stage performances.

Personal life

Wadkar is married to classical singer Padma. He has two daughters, Ananya and Gia.

Awards

In 1976, Wadkar won the Madan Mohan Best Male Singer Award at the Sur-Singar competition.

He also won the 2007 Maharashtra Pride Award which is given by the government of Maharashtra to citizens of note.

He is also a recipient of the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar instituted by Madhya Pradesh government.

In 2011, he won the National Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Mee Sindhutai Sapkal (Marathi).

Collaborators

Suresh Wadkar has sung for a variety of composers in the Indian film industry. These include:

Shrinivas Khale (Marathi)

Shridhar Phadke (Marathi)

Laxmikant Pyarelal

Kalyanji Anandji

R.D. Burman

Ilayaraja

Ravindra Jain

Bappi Lahiri

Khaiyyam

Usha Khanna

A.R. Rehman

Vidyasagar

Nadeem-Shravan

Vishal Bhardwaj

Rajesh Roshan

Raamlaxman

Shiv-Hari

Jatin-Lalit

Hridayanath Mangeshkar

Shridhar Phadke

Anand-Milind

Anu Malik

Himesh Reshammiya

Shanker

Ravi

Chitragupta

Jaidev

Selected filmography

''7 Khoon Maaf''(2012)

''Kanden Kadhalai''(2009) (Tamil)

''Kaminey'' (2009)

''Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi'' (2008)

''Omkara]]'' (2006)

''Vivah'' (2006)

''Bal Ganesh'' (2006)

''Indra'' (2002)

''Hu Tu Tu'' (1999)

''Sar Utha Ke Jiyo'' (1998)

''Satya'' (1998)

''Maachis'' (1996)

''PremGranth'' (1996)

''Rangeela'' (1995)

''Guddu'' (1995)

''Aaina'' (1993)

''In Custody'' (1993)

''Parampara'' (1992)

''Dil Aashna Hai'' (1992)

''Thalapathi'' (1991)

''Lamhe'' (1991)

''Lekin'' (1991)

''Henna'' (1991)

''Kurbaan'' (1991)

''Aaj Ka Samson'' (1991)

''Patthar Ke Phool'' (1991)

''The Blow'' (1991)

''Shiva'' (1990)

''Parinda (1989)

''Bhrashtachar'' (1989)

''Toofan'' (1989)

''Purani Haveli'' (1989)

''Chandni'' (1989)

''Hero Hiralal'' (1988)

''Libaas'' (1988)

''Thikana'' (1987)

''Hifazat'' (1987) directed by Prayag Raj

''Ram Teri Ganga Maili'' (1985)

''Utsav'' (1984)

''Sadma'' (1983)

''Masoom'' (1983)

''Disco Dancer'' (1982)

''Prem Rog'' (1982)

''Hum Paanch'' (1980)

''gaman'' (1978)

''Paheli'' (1977)

References

External links

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian male singers Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Marathi-language singers

mr:सुरेश वाडकर ur:سریش واڈکر

Coordinates	40°20′17″N79°42′39″N
conventional long name	Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China although "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are also accepted.|groupnote}}

| native_name = 中華人民共和國香港特別行政區 | common_name = Hong Kong | image_flag = Flag of Hong Kong.svg | alt_flag = A flag with a white 5-petalled flower design on solid red background | image_coat = Hong Kong SAR Regional Emblem.svg | alt_coat = A red circular emblem, with a white 5-petalled flower design in the centre, and surrounded by the words "Hong Kong" and "中華人民共和國香港特別行政區" | symbol_type = Emblem | national_anthem = ''March of the Volunteers'' 《義勇軍進行曲》 | image_map = Hong Kong Skyline Restitch - Dec 2007.jpg | map_caption = View at night from Victoria Peak | alt_map = A panorama overlooking the skyscrapers of Hong Kong at night, with Victoria Harbour in the background | image_map2 = Hong Kong Location.svg | map2_width = 250px | alt_map2 = Hong Kong is situated on a peninsula and series of islands on the south coast of China, to the east of the Pearl River Delta and bordered to the north by Guangdong province | official_languages = Chinese, English It does not explicitly specify the standard for "Chinese". While Mandarin written in Simplified Chinese characters are the standards in mainland China, Cantonese and Traditional Chinese characters are the ''de facto'' standards in Hong Kong. ''See also: Bilingualism in Hong Kong''.|group=note}} | languages_type = Spoken languages | languages = Cantonese, English | demonym = Hong Konger | leader_title1 = Chief Executive | leader_name1 = Donald Tsang | leader_title2 = Chief Justice | leader_name2 = Geoffrey Ma | leader_title3 = President of theLegislative Council | leader_name3 = Jasper Tsang | legislature = Legislative Council | government_type = Quasi-presidential autonomous region with limited suffrage | sovereignty_type = Establishment | established_event1 = Treaty of Nanking | established_date1 = 29 August 1842 | established_event2 = Japanese occupation | established_date2 = 25 December 1941 –15 August 1945 | established_event3 = Handover to China | established_date3 = 1 July 1997 | latd= 22 | latm= 16.7 | latNS = N | longd= 114 |longm= 09.533 |longEW = E | area_magnitude = 1 E9 | area_km2 = 1,104 | area_rank = 179th | area_sq_mi = 426 | percent_water = 4.58 (50 km²; 19 mi²) | population_census = 7,061,200 | population_census_year = 2010 | population_density_km2 = 6480 | population_density_sq_mi = 16576 | population_density_rank = 4th | GDP_PPP = $326 billion | GDP_PPP_rank = | GDP_PPP_year = 2010 | GDP_PPP_per_capita = $45,736 | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = | GDP_nominal = $225 billion | GDP_nominal_rank = | GDP_nominal_year = 2010 | GDP_nominal_per_capita = $31,590 | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = | Gini = 43.4 | Gini_year = 2007 | HDI = 0.862 | HDI_rank = 21st | HDI_year = 2010 | HDI_category = very high | currency = Hong Kong dollar | currency_code = HKD | time_zone = HKT | utc_offset = +8 | date_format = yyyy年m月d日 (Chinese) dd-mm-yyyy (English) | drives_on = left | cctld = .hk and .香港 | calling_code = +852 | nicknames = HK, The 852 }}

pic	Hong Kong in Chinese 2.svg
picsize	100px
c	香港
i
j	hoeng1gong2
y	Hēunggóng
p	Xiānggǎng
w	Hsiang1-kang3
mi
wuu	shian平kaon上
poj	Hiong-kang
h	Hiông-kóng
showflag	jyp }}

Hong Kong () is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.

Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has a different political system from mainland China. Hong Kong's independent judiciary functions under the common law framework. The Basic Law of Hong Kong, its constitutional document, which stipulates that Hong Kong shall have a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign relations and military defence, governs its political system. Although it has a burgeoning multi-party system, a small-circle electorate controls half of its legislature. An 800-person Election Committee selects the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the head of government.

As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the world. The lack of space caused demand for denser constructions, which developed the city to a centre for modern architecture and the world's most vertical city. The dense space also led to a highly developed transportation network with public transport travelling rate exceeding 90 percent, the highest in the world. Hong Kong has numerous high international rankings in various aspects. For instance, its economic freedom, financial and economic competitiveness, quality of life, corruption perception, Human Development Index, etc., are all ranked highly.

Etymology

The name "Hong Kong" is an approximate phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the spoken Cantonese or Hakka name "香港", meaning "fragrant harbour". Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet – now Aberdeen Harbour or Little Hong Kong – between the island of Ap Lei Chau and the south side of Hong Kong Island, which was one of the first points of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.

The reference to fragrance may refer to the harbour waters sweetened by the fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense from factories lining the coast to the north of Kowloon, which was stored around Aberdeen Harbour for export before the development of Victoria Harbour. In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed, and the name Hong Kong was first recorded on official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.

History

Pre-colonial

Archaeological studies support a human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago, and in Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago. Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the two earliest sites of human habitation in the Palaeolithic period. It is believed the Three Fathom Cove was a river valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggest cultural differences from the Longshan culture in northern China and settlement by the Che people prior to the migration of the Baiyue. Eight petroglyphs were discovered on surrounding islands, which dated to the Shang Dynasty in China.

In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern Liangguang region) and incorporated the territory into imperial China for the first time. Modern Hong Kong is located in Nanhai commandery (modern Nanhai District) and near the ancient capital city Pun Yue. The area was consolidated under the kingdom of Nanyue, founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC after the Qin Dynasty collapsed. When the kingdom was conquered by Emperor Wu of Han in 111 BC, the land was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery under the Han Dynasty. Archaeological evidence indicates the population increased and early salt production flourished in this time period. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb in the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built during the Han Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty period, the Guangdong region flourished as a regional trading center. In 736, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang established a military town in Tuen Mun to defend the coastal area in the region. The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 in the New Territories under the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Mongol invasion in 1276, the Southern Song Dynasty court moved to Fujian, then to Lantau Island and later to Sung Wong Toi (modern Kowloon City), but the child Emperor Huaizong of Song committed suicide by drowning with his officials after being defeated in the Battle of Yamen. Hau Wong, an official of the emperor is still worshipped in Hong Kong today.

The earliest recorded European visitor was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513. After establishing settlements in the region, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. At the same time, they invaded and built up military fortifications in Tuen Mun. Military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of the Portuguese. In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order banned maritime activities and prevented contact with foreigners; it also restricted local sea activity. In 1661–69, the territory was affected by the Great Clearance ordered by Kangxi Emperor, which required the evacuation of the coastal areas of Guangdong. It is recorded that about 16,000 persons from Xin'an County were driven inland, and 1,648 of those who left are said to have returned when the evacuation was rescinded in 1669. What is now the territory of Hong Kong became largely wasteland during the ban. In 1685, Kangxi became the first emperor to open limited trading with foreigners, which started with the Canton territory. He also imposed strict terms for trades such as requiring foreign traders to live in restricted areas, staying only for the trading seasons, banning firearms, and trading with silver only. The East India Company made the first sea venture to China in 1699, and the region's trade with British merchants developed rapidly soon after. In 1711, the company established its first trading post in Canton. By 1773, the British reached a landmark 1,000 chests of opium in Canton with China consuming 2,000 chests annually by 1799.

British colonial era

In 1839, the refusal by Qing Dynasty authorities to import opium resulted in the First Opium War between China and Britain. Hong Kong Island was occupied by British forces on 20 January 1841 and was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpee as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan, but the agreement was never ratified due to a dispute between high ranking officials in both governments. It was not until 29 August 1842 that the island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom under the Treaty of Nanking. The British established a crown colony with the founding of Victoria City the following year.

In 1860, after China's defeat in the Second Opium War, the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter's Island were ceded in perpetuity to Britain under the Convention of Peking.

In 1894, the deadly Third Pandemic of bubonic plague spread from China to Hong Kong, causing 50,000–100,000 deaths.

In 1898, under the terms of the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, Britain obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island and the adjacent northern lands, which became known as the New Territories. Hong Kong's territory has remained unchanged to the present.

During the first half of the 20th century, Hong Kong was a free port, serving as an entrepôt of the British Empire. The British introduced an education system based on their own model, while the local Chinese population had little contact with the European community of wealthy ''tai-pans'' settled near Victoria Peak.

In conjunction with its military campaign, the Empire of Japan invaded Hong Kong on 8 December 1941. The Battle of Hong Kong ended with British and Canadian defenders surrendering control of the colony to Japan on 25 December. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, civilians suffered widespread food shortages, rationing, and hyper-inflation due to forced exchange of currency for military notes. Through a policy of enforced repatriation of the unemployed to the mainland throughout the period, because of the scarcity of food, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony.

Hong Kong's population recovered quickly as a wave of migrants from China arrived for refuge from the ongoing Chinese Civil War. When the PRC was proclaimed in 1949, more migrants fled to Hong Kong for fear of persecution by the Communist Party. Many corporations in Shanghai and Guangzhou shifted their operations to Hong Kong.

In the 1950s, Hong Kong's rapid industrialisation was driven by textile exports and other expanded manufacturing industries. As the population grew and labour costs remained low, living standards rose steadily. The construction of Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 followed a massive slum fire, and marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme designed to cope with the huge influx of immigrants. Trade in Hong Kong accelerated even further when Shenzhen, immediately north of Hong Kong, became a special economic zone of the PRC, and Hong Kong was established as the main source of foreign investment in China. The manufacturing competitiveness gradually declined in Hong Kong due to the development of the manufacturing industry in southern China beginning in the early 1980s. By contrast, the service industry in Hong Kong experienced high rates of growth in the 1980s and 1990s after absorbing workers released from the manufacturing industry.

In 1983, when the United Kingdom reclassified Hong Kong from a British crown colony to a dependent territory, the governments of the United Kingdom and China were already discussing the issue of Hong Kong's sovereignty due to the impending expiry (within two decades) of the lease of the New Territories. In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration – an agreement to transfer sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997 – was signed. It stipulated that Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, which would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer, was ratified in 1990.

Since 1997

On 1 July 1997, the transfer of sovereignty from United Kingdom to the PRC occurred, officially ending 156 years of British colonial rule. Hong Kong became China's first special administrative region, and Tung Chee Hwa took office as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong. That same year, Hong Kong suffered an economic double blow from the Asian financial crisis and the H5N1 avian influenza. In 2003, Hong Kong was gravely affected by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The World Health Organization reported 1,755 infected and 299 deaths in Hong Kong. An estimated 380 million Hong Kong dollars (US$48.9 million) in contracts were lost as a result of the epidemic.

On 10 March 2005, Tung Chee Hwa announced his resignation as Chief Executive due to "health problems". Donald Tsang, the Chief Secretary for Administration at the time, entered the 2005 election unopposed and became the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong on 21 June 2005. In 2007, Tsang won the Chief Executive election and continued his second term in office.

In 2009, Hong Kong hosted the fifth East Asian Games, in which nine national teams competed. It was the first and largest international multi-sport event ever held in the territory. Today, Hong Kong continues to serve as an important global financial centre, but faces uncertainty over its future due to the growing mainland China economy, and its relationship with the PRC government in areas such as democratic reform and universal suffrage.

Governance

In accordance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and the underlying principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong has a "high degree of autonomy as a special administrative region in all areas except defence and foreign affairs." The declaration stipulates that the region maintain its capitalist economic system and guarantees the rights and freedoms of its people for at least 50 years beyond the 1997 handover. The guarantees over the territory's autonomy and the individual rights and freedoms are enshrined in a constitution, the Hong Kong Basic Law, which outlines the system of governance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, but which is subject to the interpretation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).

The primary pillars of government are the Executive Council, the civil service, the Legislative Council, and the Judiciary. The Executive Council is headed by the Chief Executive who is elected by the Election Committee and then appointed by the Central People's Government. The civil service is a politically neutral body that implements policies and provides government services, where public servants are appointed based on meritocracy. The Legislative Council has 60 members, half of which are directly elected by universal suffrage by permanent residents of Hong Kong according to five geographical constituencies. The other half, known as functional constituencies, are directly elected by a smaller electorate, which consists of corporate bodies and persons from various stipulated functional sectors. The entire council is headed by the President of the Legislative Council who serves as the speaker. Judges are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of an independent commission.

The implementation of the Basic Law, including how and when the universal suffrage promised therein is to be achieved, has been a major issue of political debate since the transfer of sovereignty. In 2002, the government's proposed anti-subversion bill pursuant to Article 23 of the Basic Law, which required the enactment of laws prohibiting acts of treason and subversion against the Chinese government, was met with fierce opposition, and eventually shelved. Debate between pro-Beijing groups, which tend to support the Executive branch, and the Pan-democracy camp characterises Hong Kong's political scene, with the latter supporting a faster pace of democratisation, and the principle of one man, one vote.

In 2004, the government failed to gain pan-democrat support to pass its so-called "district council model" for political reform. In 2009, the government reissued the proposals as the "''Consultation Document on the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive and for Forming the LegCo in 2012''". The document proposed the enlargement of the Election Committee, Hong Kong's electoral college, from 800 members to 1,200 in 2012 and expansion of the legislature from 60 to 70 seats. The 10 new legislative seats would consist of five geographical constituency seats and five functional constituency seats, to be voted in by elected district council members from among themselves. The proposals were destined for rejection by pan-democrats once again, but a significant breakthrough occurred after the Central People's Government accepted a counter-proposal by the Democratic Party. In particular, the Pan-democracy camp was split when the proposal to directly elect five newly created functional seats was not acceptable to two constituent parties. The Democratic Party sided with the government for the first time since the handover and passed the proposals with a vote of 46–12.

Legal system and judiciary

Hong Kong's legal system is completely independent from the legal system of Mainland China. In contrast to mainland China's civil law system, Hong Kong continues to follow the English Common Law tradition established under British rule. Hong Kong's courts may refer to decisions rendered by courts of other common law jurisdictions as precedents, and judges from other common law jurisdictions are allowed to sit as non-permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal.

Structurally, the court system consists of the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, which is made up of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance, and the District Court, which includes the Family Court. Other adjudicative bodies include the Lands Tribunal, the Magistrates' Courts, the Juvenile Court, the Coroner's Court, the Labour Tribunal, the Small Claims Tribunal, and the Obscene Articles Tribunal. Justices of the Court of Final Appeal are appointed by Hong Kong's Chief Executive.

The Department of Justice is responsible for handling legal matters for the government. Its responsibilities include providing legal advice, criminal prosecution, civil representation, legal and policy drafting and reform, and international legal cooperation between different jurisdictions. Apart from prosecuting criminal cases, lawyers of the Department of Justice act on behalf of the government in all civil and administrative lawsuits against the government. As protector of the public interest, the department may apply for judicial reviews and may intervene in any cases involving the greater public interest. The Basic Law protects the Department of Justice from any interference by the government when exercising its control over criminal prosecution.

Human rights

In general, Hong Kong is perceived to enjoy a high level of civil liberties. The Hong Kong government generally respect the human rights of the citizens, although core issues remain. There are concerns over the freedom of assembly which is restricted by the Public Order Ordinance. The police has been occasionally accused of using heavy-handed tactics towards protestors and questions are asked towards the extensive powers of the police. As to the right of privacy, covert surveillance remains the major concern. There is a lack of protection for homosexuals due to the absence of a sexual orientation discrimination law. There are also comments regarding a lack of protection for labour rights.

Internet access in Hong Kong is not under the censorship, surveillance, and control of the Great Firewall of China.

Administrative districts

Hong Kong has a unitary system of government; no local government has existed since the two municipal councils were abolished in 2000. As such there is no formal definition for its cities and towns. Administratively, Hong Kong is subdivided into 18 geographic districts, each represented by a district council which advises the government on local matters such as public facilities, community programmes, cultural activities, and environmental improvements.

There are a total of 534 district council seats, 405 of which are elected; the rest are appointed by the Chief Executive and 27 ''ex officio'' chairmen of rural committees. The Home Affairs Department communicates government policies and plans to the public through the district offices.

Military

When Hong Kong was a British colony and later, a dependent territory, defence was provided by the British military under the command of the Governor of Hong Kong who was ''ex officio'' Commander-in-chief. When the PRC assumed sovereignty in 1997, the British barracks were replaced by a garrison of the People's Liberation Army, comprising ground, naval, and air forces, and under the command of the Chinese Central Military Commission.

The Basic Law protects local civil affairs against interference by the garrison, and members of the garrison are subject to Hong Kong laws. The Hong Kong Government remains responsible for the maintenance of public order; however, it may ask the PRC government for help from the garrison in maintaining public order and in disaster relief. The PRC government is responsible for the costs of maintaining the garrison.

Geography and climate

Hong Kong is located on China's south coast, east of Macau on the opposite side of the Pearl River Delta. It is surrounded by the South China Sea on the east, south, and west, and borders the Guangdong city of Shenzhen to the north over the Shenzhen River. The territory's area consists of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories, and over 200 offshore islands, of which the largest is Lantau Island. Of the total area, is land and is inland water. Hong Kong claims territorial waters to a distance of . Its land area makes Hong Kong the 179th largest inhabited territory in the world.

As much of Hong Kong's terrain is hilly to mountainous with steep slopes, less than 25% of the territory's landmass is developed, and about 40% of the remaining land area is reserved as country parks and nature reserves. Most of the territory's urban development exists on Kowloon peninsula, along the northern edge of Hong Kong Island, and in scattered settlements throughout the New Territories. The highest elevation in the territory is at Tai Mo Shan, above sea level. Hong Kong's long and irregular coast provides it with many bays, rivers and beaches.

Despite Hong Kong's reputation of being intensely urbanised, the territory has tried to promote a green environment, and recent growing public concern has prompted the severe restriction of further land reclamation from Victoria Harbour. Awareness of the environment is growing as Hong Kong suffers from increasing pollution compounded by its geography and tall buildings. Approximately 80% of the city's smog originates from other parts of the Pearl River Delta.

Though it is situated just south of the Tropic of Cancer, Hong Kong has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cwa''). Summer is hot and humid with occasional showers and thunderstorms, and warm air coming from the southwest. Summer is when typhoons are most likely, sometimes resulting in flooding or landslides. Winters are mild and usually start sunny, becoming cloudier towards February; the occasional cold front brings strong, cooling winds from the north. The most temperate seasons are spring, which can be changeable, and autumn, which is generally sunny and dry. Hong Kong averages 1,948 hours of sunshine per year, while the highest and lowest ever recorded temperatures at the Hong Kong Observatory are and , respectively.

Economy

As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the world. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world’s greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom for 15 consecutive years. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew 180 times while per-capita GDP increased 87 times over.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world, with a market capitalisation of US$2.3 trillion as of December 2009. In that year, Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world. Hong Kong's currency is the Hong Kong dollar, which has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1983.

The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of "positive non-interventionism", Hong Kong is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the Second World War, Hong Kong industrialised rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s.

Hong Kong matured to become a financial centre in the 1990s, but was greatly affected by the Asian financial crisis in 1998, and again in 2003 by the SARS outbreak. A revival of external and domestic demand has led to a strong recovery, as cost decreases strengthened the competitiveness of Hong Kong exports and a long deflationary period ended. Government intervention, initiated by the later colonial governments and continued since 1997, has steadily increased, with the introduction of export credit guarantees, a compulsory pension scheme, a minimum wage, anti-discrimination laws, and a state mortgage backer.

The territory has little arable land and few natural resources, so it imports most of its food and raw materials. Hong Kong is the world's eleventh largest trading entity, with the total value of imports and exports exceeding its gross domestic product. It is the world's largest re-export centre. Much of Hong Kong's exports consist of re-exports, which are products made outside of the territory, especially in mainland China, and distributed via Hong Kong. Even before the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong had established extensive trade and investment ties with the mainland, which now enable it to serve as a point of entry for investment flowing into the mainland. At the end of 2007, there were 3.46 million people employed full-time, with the unemployment rate averaging 4.1% for the fourth straight year of decline. Hong Kong's economy is dominated by the service sector, which accounts for over 90% of its GDP, while industry constitutes 9%. Inflation was at 2.5% in 2007. Hong Kong's largest export markets are mainland China, the United States, and Japan.

As of 2010, Hong Kong is the eighth most expensive city for expatriates, falling from fifth position in the previous year. In 2011, Hong Kong was ranked second in the Ease of Doing Business Index, behind Singapore. General principle No. 5 of the Basic Law of the SAR suggests that the CPC expects that it shall have brought the economic system of the Mainland and Hong Kong into harmony by 2047, by which time the Chinese economy is predicted to have been the largest by any measure of GDP for decades.

Demographics

The territory's population is 7.03 million. In 2009, Hong Kong had a birth rate of 11.7 per 1,000 population and a fertility rate of 1,032 children per 1,000 women. Residents from mainland China do not have the right of abode in Hong Kong, nor are they allowed to enter the territory freely. However, the influx of immigrants from mainland China, approximating 45,000 per year, is a significant contributor to its population growth – a daily quota of 150 Mainland Chinese with family ties in Hong Kong are granted a "one way permit". Life expectancy in Hong Kong is 79.16 years for males and 84.79 years for females as of 2009, making it one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

About 95% of the people of Hong Kong are of Chinese descent, the majority of whom are Taishanese, Chiu Chow, other Cantonese people, and Hakka. Hong Kong's Han majority originate mainly from the Guangzhou and Taishan regions in Guangdong province. The remaining 5% of the population is composed of non-ethnic Chinese. There is a South Asian population of Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese; some Vietnamese refugees have become permanent residents of Hong Kong. There are also Europeans (mostly British), Americans, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans working in the city's commercial and financial sector.|group=note}} In 2008, there were an estimate of 252,500 foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and the Philippines working in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's ''de facto'' official language is Cantonese, a Chinese language originating from Guangdong province to the north of Hong Kong. English is also an official language, and according to a 1996 by-census is spoken by 3.1 percent of the population as an everyday language and by 34.9 percent of the population as a second language. Signs displaying both Chinese and English are common throughout the territory. Since the 1997 handover, an increase in immigrants from mainland China and greater integration with the mainland economy have brought an increasing number of Mandarin speakers to Hong Kong.

The majority of residents of Hong Kong would claim no religious affiliation, professing a form of agnosticism or atheism. According to the U.S Department of State only 43 percent of the population practices some form of religion. Some figures put it higher, according to a Gallup poll, 64% of Hong Kong do not believe in any religion, and possibly 80% of Hong Kong claim no religion. According to another gallup poll, Hong Kong is the seventh country which considers religion as an important part of their daily lives, with only 22%. In Hong Kong teaching evolution won out in curriculum dispute about whether to teach other explanations, and that creationism and intelligent design will form no part of the senior secondary biology curriculum

Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of religious freedom, guaranteed by the Basic Law. Hong Kong's main religions are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, a local religious scholar in contact with major denominations estimates there are approximately 1.5 million Buddhists and Taoists. A Christian community of around 600,000 forms about 8% of the total population; it is nearly equally divided between Catholics and Protestants, although smaller Christian communities exist, including the Latter-Day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches each freely appoint their own bishops, unlike in mainland China. There are also Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Bahá'í communities. The practice of Falun Gong is tolerated.

Statistically Hong Kong's income gap is the greatest in Asia Pacific. According to a report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2008, Hong Kong's Gini coefficient, at 0.53, was the highest in Asia and "relatively high by international standards". However, the government has stressed that income disparity does not equate to worsening of the poverty situation, and that the Gini coefficient is not strictly comparable between regions. The government has named economic restructuring, changes in household sizes, and the increase of high-income jobs as factors that have skewed the Gini coefficient.

Education

Hong Kong's education system used to roughly follow the system in England, although international systems exist. The government maintains a policy of "mother tongue instruction" () in which the medium of instruction is Cantonese, with written Chinese and English. In secondary schools, 'biliterate and trilingual' proficiency is emphasised, and Mandarin-language education has been increasing. The Programme for International Student Assessment ranked Hong Kong's education system as the second best in the world. Hong Kong's public schools are operated by the Education Bureau. The system features a non-compulsory three-year kindergarten, followed by a compulsory six-year primary education, a three-year junior secondary education, a non-compulsory two-year senior secondary education leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations and a two-year matriculation course leading to the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations. The New Senior Secondary academic structure and curriculum was implemented in September 2009, which provides for all students to receive three years of compulsory junior and three years of compulsory senior secondary education. Under the new curriculum, there is only public examination, namely the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.

Most comprehensive schools in Hong Kong fall under three categories: the rarer public schools; the more common subsidised schools, including government aids-and-grant schools; and private schools, often run by Christian organisations and having admissions based on academic merit rather than on financial resources. Outside this system are the schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme and private international schools.

There are nine public universities in Hong Kong, and a number of private higher institutions, offering various bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, other higher diplomas, and associate degree courses.The University of Hong Kong, the oldest institution of tertiary education in the territory, was described by Quacquarelli Symonds as a "world-class comprehensive research university" and was ranked 24th on the 2009 THES - QS World University Rankings, making it first in Asia. The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology was ranked 35th in the world in 2009 and ranked second in Asia for 2010. The Chinese University of Hong Kong was ranked 46th in the world in 2009 and ranked fourth in Asia for 2010. Based on the 2011 rankings published by career and education network QS, three of the top five Asian universities are in Hong Kong. They are the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong and Chinese University of Hong kong as first, second and fifth rank, respectively.

Healthcare

There are 13 private hospitals and more than 50 public hospitals in Hong Kong. Among the widest range of healthcare services throughout the globe are on offer, and some of the SAR's private hospitals are rightly considered to be among the very best of their type in the world.

There are two medical schools in the SAR, one based at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the other at Hong Kong University. Both have strong links with public sector hospitals.

With respect to postgraduate education, many Hong Kong doctors have traditionally look overseas for further training, and many took British Royal College exams such as the MRCP(UK) and the MRCS(UK). However, Hong Kong has been developing its own postgraduate medical institutions, in particular the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, and this is gradually taking over the responsibility for all postgraduate medical training in the SAR.

There are also strong public health systems in Hong Kong, and the Centre for Health Protection, founded after the SARS outbreak of 2003, is particularly worthy of mention.

Culture

Hong Kong is frequently described as a place where "East meets West", reflecting the culture's mix of the territory's Chinese roots with influences from its time as a British colony. Hong Kong balances a modernised way of life with traditional Chinese practices. Concepts like ''feng shui'' are taken very seriously, with expensive construction projects often hiring expert consultants, and are often believed to make or break a business. Other objects like Ba gua mirrors are still regularly used to deflect evil spirits, and buildings often lack any floor number that has a 4 in it, due to its similarity to the word for "die" in Cantonese. The fusion of east and west also characterises Hong Kong's cuisine, where dim sum, hot pot, and fast food restaurants coexist with haute cuisine.

Hong Kong is a recognised global centre of trade, and calls itself an "entertainment hub". Its martial arts film genre gained a high level of popularity in the late 1960s and 1970s. Several Hollywood performers, notable actors and martial artists have originated from Hong Kong cinema, notably Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Jet Li. A number of Hong Kong film-makers have achieved widespread fame in Hollywood, such as John Woo, Wong Kar-wai, and Stephen Chow.

The Hong Kong government supports cultural institutions such as the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. The government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department subsidises and sponsors international performers brought to Hong Kong. Many international cultural activities are organised by the government, consulates, and privately.

Hong Kong has two licensed terrestrial broadcasters – ATV and TVB. There are three local and a number of foreign suppliers of cable and satellite services. The production of Hong Kong's soap dramas, comedy series, and variety shows reach audiences throughout the Chinese-speaking world. Magazine and newspaper publishers in Hong Kong distribute and print in both Chinese and English, with a focus on sensationalism and celebrity gossip. The media in Hong Kong is relatively free from official interference compared to mainland China, although the ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' points to signs of self-censorship by journals whose owners have close ties to or business interests in the People's Republic of China and states that even Western media outlets are not immune to growing Chinese economic power.

Hong Kong offers wide recreational and competitive sport opportunities despite its limited land area. It sends delegates to international competitions such as the Olympic Games and Asian Games, and played host to the equestrian events during the 2008 Summer Olympics. There are major multipurpose venues like Hong Kong Coliseum and MacPherson Stadium. Hong Kong's steep terrain and extensive trail network with expansive views attracts hikers, and its rugged coastline provides many beaches for swimming.

Cityscape

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Architecture

According to Emporis, there are 7,650 skyscrapers in Hong Kong, which puts the city at the top of world rankings. It has more buildings higher than 35m (or 100m, or 150m) than any other city. The high density and tall skyline of Hong Kong's urban area is due to a lack of available sprawl space, with the average distance from the harbour front to the steep hills of Hong Kong Island at , much of it reclaimed land. This lack of space causes demand for dense, high-rise offices and housing. Thirty-six of the world's 100 tallest residential buildings are in Hong Kong. More people in Hong Kong live or work above the 14th floor than anywhere else on Earth, making it the world's most vertical city.

As a result of the lack of space and demand for construction, few older buildings remain, and the city is becoming a centre for modern architecture. The International Commerce Centre (ICC), at high, is the tallest building in Hong Kong and the third tallest in the world, by height to roof measurement. The tallest building prior to the ICC is Two International Finance Centre, at high. Other recognisable skyline features include the HSBC Headquarters Building, the triangular-topped Central Plaza with its pyramid-shaped spire, The Center with its night-time multi-coloured neon light show, and I. M. Pei's Bank of China Tower with its sharp, angular façade. According to the Emporis website, the city skyline has the biggest visual impact of all world cities. The oldest remaining historic structures including the Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower, the Central Police Station, and the remains of Kowloon Walled City were constructed during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

There are many development plans in place, including the construction of new government buildings, waterfront redevelopment in Central, and a series of projects in West Kowloon. More high-rise development is set to take place on the other side of Victoria Harbour in Kowloon, as the 1998 closure of the nearby Kai Tak Airport lifted strict height restrictions.

Transport

Hong Kong's transportation network is highly developed. Over 90% of daily travels (11 million) are on public transport, the highest such percentage in the world. Payment can be made using the Octopus card, a stored value system introduced by the Mass Transit Railway (MTR), which is widely accepted on railways, buses and ferries, and accepted like cash at other outlets.

The city's main railway company (MTR) was merged with the urban mass transit operator (KCRC) in 2007, creating a comprehensive rail network for the whole territory (also called MTR). This MTR rapid transit system has 152 stations, which serve 3.4 million people a day. Hong Kong Tramways, which has served the territory since 1904, covers the northern parts of Hong Kong Island.

{| |- | |} Hong Kong's bus service is franchised and run by private operators. Five privately owned companies provide franchised bus service across the territory, together operating more than 700 routes. The two largest, Kowloon Motor Bus provides 402 routes in Kowloon and New Territories; Citybus operates 154 routes on Hong Kong Island; both run cross-harbour services. Double-decker buses were introduced to Hong Kong in 1949, and are now almost exclusively used; single-decker buses remain in use for routes with lower demand or roads with lower load capacity. Public light buses serve most parts of Hong Kong, particularly areas where standard bus lines cannot reach or do not reach as frequently, quickly, or directly.

The Star Ferry service, founded in 1888, operates four lines across Victoria Harbour and provides scenic views of Hong Kong's skyline for its 53,000 daily passengers. It acquired iconic status following its use as a setting on ''The World of Suzie Wong''. Travel writer Ryan Levitt considered the main Tsim Sha Tsui to Central crossing one of the most picturesque in the world. Other ferry services are provided by operators serving outlying islands, new towns, Macau, and cities in mainland China. Hong Kong is famous for its junks traversing the harbour, and small kai-to ferries that serve remote coastal settlements. The Port of Hong Kong is a busy deepwater port, specialising in container shipping.

Hong Kong Island's steep, hilly terrain was initially served by sedan chairs. The Peak Tram, the first public transport system in Hong Kong, has provided vertical rail transport between Central and Victoria Peak since 1888. In Central and Western district, there is an extensive system of escalators and moving pavements, including the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world, the Mid-Levels escalator.

Hong Kong International Airport is a leading air passenger gateway and logistics hub in Asia and one of the world's busiest airports in terms of international passenger and cargo movement, serving more than 47 million passengers and handling 3.74 million tonnes (4.12 million tons) of cargo in 2007. It replaced the overcrowded Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon in 1998, and has been rated as the world's best airport in a number of surveys. Over 85 airlines operate at the two-terminal airport and it is the primary hub of Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Air Hong Kong, Hong Kong Airlines, and Hong Kong Express.

See also

Public holidays in Hong Kong

List of cities with most skyscrapers

Notes

Footnotes

References

Further reading

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External links

; Government

Discover Hong Kong – Official site of the Hong Kong Tourism Board

; Other

Hong Kong at Encyclopædia Britannica

HongKong at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

WikiSatellite view of Hong Kong at WikiMapia

Category:1997 establishments Category:Chinese-speaking countries and territories Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Former British colonies Category:Independent cities Category:Metropolitan areas of China Category:Pearl River Delta Category:Populated places established in 1842 Category:Port cities and towns in China Category:South China Sea Category:Special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China

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