Hong Kong's Wild Places

Book excerpt: Follow Edward Stokes on this unforgettable journey across Hong Kong's natural landscape, and learn along the way the story of Hong Kong's environment. By way of photographs and lively narrative the author takes us through Hong Kong's wild placestowering peaks, grassy hills, wooded valleys, and coastal waters - revealing the surprisingly varied life that survives among them. This book documents the dramatic changes to Hong Kong's hills, valleys, and coasts, from their natural origins millions of years ago to the effects of widespread development in the 1990s. The author brings to light the unrelenting natural and man-made challenges to Hong Kong's environment - climatic conditions, population pressure, industrialization, and pollution. He celebrates the present beauty and grandeur of the remaining wild places, and highlights the recent damage wrought by man.