How a 99-year lease for the New Territories shaped modern Hong Kong

Food & Drink · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The New Territories makes up over 86% of Hong Kong’s land, yet it began as a strategic buffer zone leased from Qing China in 1898. Originally intended to secure the city against foreign powers, this vast region evolved from rural clans and resistance into the heart of Hong Kong’s modern population.

In June 1898, the United Kingdom secured a 99-year lease for the New Territories, an area roughly 12 times the size of the existing British colony at the time. Driven by fears of European encroachment in China and the vulnerability of Victoria Harbour, Britain sought to expand its defensive perimeter. The region, defined by the Second Convention of Peking, stretched from the Kowloon Peninsula north to the Sham Chun River and included over 200 outlying islands. While the convention was signed in June 1898, the British did not assume control until April 1899, following a survey by colonial secretary James Stewart Lockhart.

The transition was far from peaceful. Indigenous clans, fearing for their land rights, mobilized militias in the Six-Day War of 1899. The British suppressed this resistance using superior firepower, including artillery against walled villages like Kat Hing Wai. To prevent further unrest, the colonial government granted concessions regarding land use, inheritance, and marriage laws. Many of these unique rights persisted for decades, with some land and inheritance provisions remaining in effect today, occasionally creating friction between indigenous inhabitants and other residents.

For much of the 20th century, the New Territories remained largely rural. It was not until the late 1970s that the government committed to large-scale modernization, constructing new towns to alleviate overcrowding in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Today, these areas house over 3 million people. Despite this rapid development, the government maintains large portions of the region as protected parkland. In 1997, the lease expired, and the New Territories, alongside the rest of Hong Kong, was handed over to the People's Republic of China, concluding a century of British administration that began with a strategic gamble for security.

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