HONG KONG,
a British Crown Colony until 1997, is located in southeast China at the mouth of the Pearl River. The capital of the colony, Victoria on Hong Kong Island, is an important center of world commerce in the Far East and a major seaport. The colony consisted of three parts: the island of Hong Kong occupied by the British in 1839 and ceded to them by China in 1841; the Kowloon Peninsula, ceded in 1860; and the New Territories, leased for 99 years to the British in 1898. The tram system in Victoria was opened on July 30, 1904, and still runs today. The postcard shows one of the 16 single-deck trams that opened the system. The cars acquired upper decks in 1912 and the first closed trams were built in 1925.

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