China : Safety by City
China - safety as a country Hong Kong is the dynamic metropolis, where the modern and traditional world is combined.
That proves the description that this is the city where “East meets West”.
To satisfy everyone’s taste, it offers something for someone.
Starting from shopping, cuisine, and nightlife to the festivals, it is a city of vibrant entertainment.
The Victoria Peak and Harbour are often referred to as shopping paradise.
There is something for every budget, whether it is in the shops that offer brand items, or at bazaars and markets.
The most visited tourist attractions are St John’s Cathedral, Victorian-gothic St Andrew’s Church, the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Temple of Wong-Tar-Shian.
Warnings & Dangers in Hong Kong
OVERALL RISK: LOW
Hong Kong is quite safe with some petty crimes like thefts, vandalism, and burglaries. Serious crime acts are rare in Hong Kong, especially against tourists. Because there is no place in the world with 100 safety rates, it is always recommended to be watchful to avoid becoming a victim.
TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: MEDIUM
Unlicensed taxis are very common in Hong Kong and should not be taken. They often do not use their meter. What tourists should do, to avoid being tricked, is to ask the driver to take the bags out of the trunk before they pay and always take a licensed taxi from their hotel or any other accommodation.
PICKPOCKETS RISK: HIGH
The fact that it is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, as well as a great and often visited tourist destination makes Hong Kong heaven for pickpockets. So, in crowded places and busy streets you should make sure that your belongings are close to you and pay attention to your surroundings.
NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
The only natural disasters risks in Hong Kong are those of typhoons during the summer season since storms and winds cause flooding, landslides, and other major damages.
MUGGING RISK: LOW
Hong Kong has a low rate in terms of muggings, but some cases of this crime might happen if tourists follow the criminal without knowing what he/she is saying. Avoid talking to strangers, especially if they do not speak your language.
TERRORISM RISK: LOW
In the recent history of terrorism in Hong Kong, there are no records of terrorist attacks, but they still cannot be predicted. The global risk of terrorist attacks in public areas exists worldwide, so tourists should be vigilant.
SCAMS RISK: HIGH
All the tourists who come to Hong Kong represent a possible victim of scammers and it is a growing problem. The most common trick is in shops that shop assistants go to pick a new set in the back of the shop after you decide to purchase something and the one they bring is usually an older model or even a fake one. Many shops sell products without a price tag which allows them to decide the price at the spot and often overcharge customers.
WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: LOW
The risk for women travelers in Hong Kong is at the lowest level and it is hard to believe that there is no area in the whole city that women should not visit both during the day and night. Because pickpocket risk is at a high level, women should be cautious as in any other city.
So... How Safe Is Hong Kong Really?
Hong Kong is a city that quickly developed into important business and cultural center.
Lan Kwai Fong is an entertainment district with bars, restaurants and lives music.
Victoria Peak is the mountaintop full of expensive mansions which offer the best view of the city.
All the attractions are great for tourists, but they are also attractive for some petty crimes and lawbreakers tend to take advantage of every possible situation.
The most violent crimes are usually committed by triads and they include drug trafficking and racketeering.
Tourists should pay attention while driving and use amazing public transport systems because there are over 500,000 private vehicles in Hong Kong and inexperienced driving can be risky.
How Does Hong Kong Compare?
| City | Safety Index |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 70 |
| Shanghai | 66 |
| Tianjin | 67 |
| Guangzhou | 64 |
| Shenzhen | 64 |
| Beijing | 65 |
| Macau | 66 |
| Sao Paulo (Brazil) | 45 |
| Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | 43 |
| Sofia (Bulgaria) | 73 |
| Siem Reap (Cambodia) | 63 |
| Phnom Penh (Cambodia) | 61 |
| Niagara Falls (Canada) | 87 |
Useful Information
Visas
The necessity for a visa depends on the country you are coming from. The Philippines nationals who come to Hong Kong for tourism or business and stay less than 14 days do not need visas. There are 170 countries whose citizens can visit Hong Kong without a visa if they stay from 7 to 180 days, but that also depends on their nationality.
Currency
The official currency in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong dollar (HKD). ATMs can be found in big cities. Your credit cards might not be accepted everywhere since the Chinese still pay for most things in cash. Even though many people believe that it is a very luxurious city, Hong Kong is not the most expensive in the world.
Weather
A monsoon subtropical climate of Hong Kong makes the weather mild throughout most of the year. During the period from October to early December, the weather is sunny and pleasant. July is the hottest month, while the coldest is January. You can easily distinguish seasons in Hong Kong – spring is warm, summers are usually sunny and rainy, autumn is the best season to visit Hong Kong due to the pleasant weather conditions, and winters are cold.
Airports
Hong Kong International Airport has two parallel runways, which are 3,800 meters long and 60 meters wide. It is Hong Kong’s major airport, located on the island of Chek Lap Kok. The airport’s nickname is Chek Lap Kok Airport and it is used for the transportation of both cargo and passengers.
Travel Insurance
Visitors of Hong Kong do not necessarily have to have any form of insurance, but travel insurance is always considered prudent. Once you know that you have protection in case of accidental injury, lost or stolen baggage or trip cancellation, it makes you feel peaceful when you travel.
Hong Kong Weather Averages (Temperatures)
Average High/Low Temperature
| Temperature / Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | 18 | 19 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 24 | 20 |
| Low °C | 14 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 15 |
| High °F | 64 | 66 | 70 | 77 | 82 | 86 | 88 | 88 | 86 | 82 | 75 | 68 |
| Low °F | 57 | 57 | 63 | 68 | 75 | 79 | 81 | 79 | 77 | 73 | 66 | 59 |
China - Safety by City
| City | Safety Index |
|---|---|
| Beijing | 65 |
| Guangzhou | 64 |
| Hong Kong | 70 |
| Macau | 66 |
| Shanghai | 66 |
| Shenzhen | 64 |
| Tianjin | 67 |
| Tibet | 87 |
| Xinjiang | 80 |
Hong Kong Dollar is used in Hong Kong, instead of Renmenbi.
Hong Kong people's comments
As a Hong Kong people, I disagree.
For Transport & Taxi risk should be low, not too much unlicensed taxi.
For Pickpockets risk should be medium, not high risk. I don’t face too much of being pickpockets,
For Mugging Risk should be medium, Mugging Risk is used to be low before July 2019. But after the HK protest 2019, there are significant rise of Mugging Risk
For Terrorism risk should be medium to high, since june 2019, violent protesters begin, and they simply burn the police station and mtr station, there are case for burn human who stand in opposite side in Nov 2019. In another side, the pro-government protester also attack normal citizen.
As a Hong Kongers, the TERRORISM RISK is not that high but since June 2019, the HK police force actually acts as the terrorist.
They will arrest and shot to innocent people.
But for tourists not from China are mostly to be safe to travel to Hong Kong.
Indonesian Journalist was shot in face by Hong Kong police one eye left blind
If you want to experience tear gas, rubber bullets, sponge grenades, welcome to Hong Kong.
Moreover, if you are lucky enough, you may have a chance to become a blue man because of the water cannon.
Political terrorism is rampant
As a Hong Kong citizen, the risk of political terrorism is extremely high. You are likely to be physically assaulted if you speak out against the “pro-democracy” protesters. In one case an old man was set on fire for arguing with them. Very xenophobic. Discriminates against mainlanders. Police sometimes uses excessive force while clearing out protests. Don’t come here unless you are looking for burning trashcans, teargas or riots.
what the ...
As a Parisian who lived in Hong Kong this is the safest city on earth.
Both in statistics and in experience.
How the hell you place HK lower than Paris.
It will virtually happend nothing at all to you in HK even if you seek for problems you won’t find them.
0 credibility you never went there and not even took the time to look at pick pocket statistic. Bunch of non sense here written by amateurs and notes randomly given
rubbish review
These guys writing the review have not set foot in HK in their life
Using Rmb in HK,since when?
Unlicensed taxis?where?
Wrong Information
So much wrong information.
1) $HKD is used in Hong Kong, not RMB.
2) Pickpockets risks are low, I’ve never been a victim of pickpocket for a single time living here for 20 years.
3) Scam risks are present, but not as high as it stated. If you want to buy something luxury, just go to the mall and avoid shops in the street.
4) Political risks in Hong Kong is high though. Don’t speak something against China now.
It would be hard to find a safer large city in the world
Easy.
Singapore.
There is a difference, between how tourists are treated and how locals are treated, so the experience of those two will obviously be different.
90% bad, 10% good, speaking as HKer myself
Y’ know, as a Hong Konger myself, HK isn’t exactly the safest place. I’m talkin’ political… problems here.
HK is now under a National Security Law, which can be used against anyone who goes against it, violate that dumb, right-stripping law, and you’re just about as alive as a rock.
Everywhere in HK was a battlefield, protestors and police clashed in violent battles which could be classified as a war to some, it’s a war to me, I stand with the pro-democracy protestors, most of us are good people who honestly just want freedom, but some others are uh, not right in the head, I’d like to say. I mean come on, one of us set fire to an old man in an argument, AN OLD MAN!!!! WHAT THE???????!!!!!
Police are bad. Most of the battles I talked about above were started by police throwing tear gas at people, shooting people with rubber bullets, assaulting people who weren’t even involved in the matter and they shot a student. A STUDENT!!!!!!!
But there are good things here:
Food is good, you can’t find better street food anywhere else, if you’re a sucker for eastern and western foods and can’t choose, come to HK, we got you covered
It’s a shopping paradise, knock yourself out at the malls.
The skyline. It’s beautiful!
It was once great and I hope it will be again
Hong Kong is not as safe as it once was mainly because of the protests and police activity. Both are dangers for people visiting, even though tourists usually don’t interact as much with these things. I would not come here at this time. This city is beautiful but I can’t just always look over my shoulder not knowing what’s next.
This place is actually great
Lived here ALL my life, those saying bout not talking bad for china = false, you actually can ( as long as they can’t hear ya) It is pretty crowded tho soooo… Also, don’t worry about pickpockets.
I am now 13, and there was only 1 pickpocket incident EVER in those years. Also, taxis can’t scam ya. They have a literal taximeter RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE so yea
Very safe city
Hong Kong is easily the safest major city in the world. Violent crimes are extremely rare, and are usually confined to gangs.
Pickpockets are uncommon. I have never experienced one, having lived in HK for 5 years. There are very few unlicensed taxis, if any. Scamming is a problem, but it can easily be avoided by sticking with recognised shops in malls.
I REALLY LOVE HONG KONG 我愛香港及其美食和人民 😍Most people speak perfect English and are very polite and friendly, The food is great the weather is good and the amount of outdoor activities available is awesome. beautiful beaches hiking trails etc. Hong Kongers are very Kind people mostly.
我愛香港及其美食和人民
wrong info
HK is hands down one of the safest cities on earth. As mentioned in a previous comment, in HK you don’t stay away from troubles. Troubles stay away from you!
If you want to avoid troubles at all cost, I’d say actually tourists and non-locals are mostly likely to be the ones who may bring you troubles. However, the possibility of getting into trouble is still extremely rare.
Quite possibly the most serious “crime” you would ever encounter after spending your entire life in HK is getting into a verbal argument (mostly likely with taxi drivers, drunkard, or mainland Chinese). Another “crime” you may encounter (which in fact is way more common) are the uncivilized acts of some tourists, mostly from mainland China.
Where there are cockroaches, there are scammers (mostly from mainland China and south east Asia). In HK, you can simply ignore them and they will go away. Also, always check the map before getting on a taxi, taxi drivers for some reason really love to spend more time with their passengers so they will often choose the longer route, the congested streets and the wrong turn (and yes, the meter will go up so you will have to pay more :D! )
Sadly, political risk is getting more serious. So if you do something that is politically sensitive, you may be in big trouble. Since 2019, the police in Hong Kong became very political and therefore they will not hesitate to confront you or violate your rights if you are too outspoken about the issues of the Chinese (or Xi’s) regime. But as a tourist, they will usually turn a blind eye so you will be fine. Most importantly, in HK, there is a well-known saying “好仔唔當差” (literal meaning: “decent men would never be a cop”) So police in HK are mostly troublemakers that dropped out of school at an early age due to terrible credentials (academically and personally). So the majority of them would rather do their best to lessen their workloads and, even if they know you are onto something, since they can’t really speak English and won’t understand you, they will often avoid confronting you (like i said before, troubles will stay away from you!).
As a native Hong Kong citizen, I want to say that there are little to no natural disasters risk in Hong Kong. It is nearly impossible to have flooding, landslides as well as hurricane, earthquake…
Only mild typhoons occur in summer so the natural disaster risk should be extremely low.