Hong Kong can be recognised due to the distinctive red and green coloured taxis that are frequent among cars here. It also contains regular cars with yellow rear plates and white front plates. Hong Kong license plates are almost square shaped. In Hong Kong you are never far from a high rise building, the area feels tropical and contains palm trees. Hong Kong is densely populated, has many high-rise buildings. It has a real tropical feel with palm trees being particularly common. Box shaped cars also feature abundantly. Cars drive on the left side of the road in Hong Kong. The major Hong Kong roads are denoted by a yellow shield enclosing a number. Hong Kong’s signs often feature both English and Traditional Chinese.

Hong Kong is located in Southern China, sharing a border with the Guangdong province. It is a Chinese Special Administrative Region, so for country streaks purposes, it is counted as part of China.


Hong Kong has white front licence plates and yellow rear licence plates. The licence plates can be long or short. Some cars have an additional black mainland Chinese licence plate.

Singapore also drives on the left, however Taiwan drives on the right.

Hong Kong is a densely populated city with millions of inhabitants. In urban areas, modern skyscrapers are common, with busy streets filled with vehicles and pedestrians.


Outside the urban areas, Hong Kong is generally quite mountainous, with green, subtropical vegetation. There is extensive coverage in rural areas outside the city, with many roads going through the mountains. You might see low-rise rural buildings, however usually you will not need to travel far to see tall apartment blocks.

Singapore, on the other hand, is very flat.

One very striking aspect of Hong Kong architecture are the many extremely tall apartment buildings found throughout the city. 

Apartment buildings in Singapore and Taiwan tend to be not nearly as tall as those in Hong Kong.

Because of the subtropical climate, air conditioners attached to the walls of apartments are very common in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has two official languages: English and Chinese (legally, no variety is specified, but residents primarily speak Cantonese).

Bilingual signs are common, with English next to traditional Chinese characters.

Cylindrical grey lamp posts with a wide base are common. Many lamp posts have a white sticker.

Utility poles will never be seen in urban rounds, however you might see cylindrical wooden poles in rural areas. The poles can be single or double, with electricity counters or transformers attached to them.

In Hong Kong, you will almost never see striped kerbs, which are extremely common in Singapore. In addition, grey pedestrian guardrails are also common.

Hong Kong uses yellow pedestrian crossings. Some intersections have yellow grids.

Hong Kong usually uses white centre lines and white or yellow outer lines. These lines can be single, double or dashed. Roads are also commonly made of concrete. Yellow outer lines are most commonly found on small roads to indicate no-stopping.

Road signs are white and rectangular, with a thick black outline and bilingual text.

Give way signs feature a white upside down triangle with a thick red border and bilingual text.

Distinct weathered rock walls can be seen on the side of mountains. Some of them have nets, to prevent rock slides. In addition, green or blue plaques are a common sight.

Most fire hydrants are red, and usually have circular tops and three protrusions. There is also a pipe-like variant. Some fire hydrants have other colours, so make sure to look at their shape or other clues before guessing.

Yellow bollards with a white arrow in a blue circle are commonly seen at pedestrian crossings, but also elsewhere, indicating where cars should go. There is a flat and a cuboid version.

Distinct bright orange bins can be found on sidewalks.

Hong Kong taxis come in two variants: sedans or station wagons, with the sedans most commonly seen. They can be easily identified by their silver roofs, green stickers on the front and rear bumper, and the taxi sign on the roof. 

Red taxis are most common on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, green taxis in the New Territories in the northern region and blue taxis on Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok. Keep in mind, Hong Kong is a small city and taxis travel all around it.

Buses in Hong Kong are mostly double-decker, with various colour schemes and adverts on the side. Single-decker versions do exist, but are less common. Smaller minibuses can also be seen, with a green or red roof.

Place names are sometimes visible on the front of the buses, which can be useful for region guessing.

Double-decker buses are also somewhat common in Singapore, but these will often have a recognizable light green colour scheme.

Boxy houses that are a few storeys high are a common sight in small villages, mostly to the north of Hong Kong.