Hong Kong Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands

The land of today's Hong Kong appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 11 different states, among them Hong Kong, Han, Song Empire, Tang Empire, Min-Yue.

Hong Kong

Explore the history of Hong Kong in the interactive map

Compare 1000 with today

Who ruled the land of Hong Kong, map by map

Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.

Historic cities in Hong Kong

• Hong Kong

Famous people of Hong Kong

Questions

Which empires and states ruled the territory of Hong Kong?

On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Hong Kong belonged to Hong Kong, Han, Song Empire, Tang Empire, Min-Yue, Ming Empire, along with 5 other states.

What was Hong Kong part of in 1000?

On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Hong Kong lay within Song Empire.

What was Hong Kong part of in 1500?

On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Hong Kong lay within Ming Chinese Empire.

What was Hong Kong part of in 1900?

On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Hong Kong lay within Hong Kong.

Further reading

• History of Hong Kong in Encyclopaedia Britannica
• History of Hong Kong on Wikipedia

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.