Hong Kong
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Hong Kong. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an island off the southeast coast of China. It lies at the mouth of the Canton River. It was ceded to Great Britain in 1841. It has an area of about twenty-nine square miles. In 1898 a promontory on the mainland having an area of 376 square miles was leased for a period of ninety-nine years. These tracts, together with adjacent islands, have a population of about one-third of a million. The capital of the district is the city of Victoria. It extends along the northern shore of the island of Hong Kong, having a water frontage of about four miles. There are about 6,000 European residents. Though several times as large, Hong Kong bears about the same relation to Victoria that the District of Columbia does to the city of Washington. It is a colony, not a city. The island has been fortified. It is a naval station and a base of military supplies of the first importance. The governor receives a salary of $25,000 a year, and has a full complement of subordinate officers. Schools are maintained. Hong Kong, that is to say, the port of Victoria, is the center of British trade and influence in China. It has an enormous trade. No duties are imposed. The exports of tea, silks, hemp, and drugs to Great Britain amount to $5,000,000 a year. English merchants sell cotton and woolen goods, iron, machinery, copper, and coal. In 1907 the arrivals were 81 steamers, 55 large sailing vessels, and 24,000 small vessels and junks. It is estimated that 15,000 fishing boats and other small craft frequent the harbors and bays of Hong Kong. There is an excellent dry dock in which vessels may be repaired and refitted. See Weihaiwei
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
an island of China in the Bay of Canton, E. of Macao; area, 32 square miles. It was given to the British by the treaty of Nan-Kin in 1842, depends on the presidency of Calcutta, and has Victoria as capital. A university was opened in 1912. Pop. (1917) 535,100.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The 99-year lease Aiton's mentions in 1910 ran out on 30 June 1997, and Britain handed back not just the leased New Territories but the ceded island and Kowloon too; Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China under a "one country, two systems" formula meant to last until 2047. The population Collier's gave as 535,100 in 1917 is now around 7.5 million, and the free port that shipped tea and silk is one of the world's largest container ports and a global financial centre rather than a naval base for the Royal Navy. The University of Hong Kong, "opened in 1912" in Collier's one-line note, is still the territory's oldest university. The name Victoria has faded from ordinary use, and after mass protests in 2019 Beijing imposed a national security law in June 2020 that has sharply narrowed the political autonomy promised at the handover.
Written for this edition, 2026.