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Just as Mainland China can be referred to as 中国, 大陆 or 内地,

I was wondering whether Hong Kong has any alternative names (official or just as slang).

In English, we refer to Hong Kong in slang as 'the concrete jungle' or more officially, 'Pearl of the Orient'.

So I was wondering if there are any Chinese names other than 'fragrant harbor'.

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香江

ABC Canto:

PLACE WORD another name for Hong Kong; refers to especially to Victoria Harbor which resembles a river separating Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon Peninsula

是次畫展於香江舉辦 si6 ci3 waa2 zin2 jyu1 hoeng1 gong1 geoi2 baan6 This time the exhibition of paintings is held in Hong Kong

Notes: elegant

See also 本港 bun2 gong2 香港地 hoeng1 gong2 dei2 太平山下 taai3 ping4 saan1 haa6 幻彩詠香江 waan6 coi2 wing6 hoeng1 gong1

Some additions from the above notes:

本港

NOUN another name for Hong Kong

呢隻藥喺本港冇註冊,間舖頭唔應該賣俾人 ni1 zek3 joek6 hai2 bun2 gong2 mou5 zyu3 caak3, gaan1 pou3 tau2 m4 jing1 goi1 maai6 bei2 jan4 This medicine isn't registered in Hong Kong, so the shop shouldn't sell it to people

本港冇自己嘅空軍,根本冇呢方面嘅人材,結果係航空公司需要請外籍機師 bun2 gong2 mou5 zi6 gei2 ge3 hung1 gwan1, gan1 bun2 mou5 ni1 fong1 min6 ge3 jan4 coi4, git3 gwo2 hai6 hong4 hung1 gung1 si1 seoi1 jiu3 ceng2 ngoi6 zik6 gei1 si1 Hong Kong doesn't have its own air force, and basically has no talented people in this area, the result is that airline companies need to hire foreign pilots

Notes: literally this harbor; figurative

太平山下

PLACE WORD another name for Hong Kong

NOTES: literally below Victoria Peak which is located on Hong Kong island

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  • Is 香江 the more common variant out of the three? Are there certain regions that refer to Hong Kong differently?
    – udidosa
    Feb 16, 2018 at 3:56
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    @Urvil 太平山下 seems to be purely Cantonese, usage is probably limited to HK & Canton. 本港 could only be used by HK because of its word construct: [本] this + [港] harbor. 香江 does seem to be the most common, it can even be found in the works of Mr. Lu Xun but it might be considered somewhat archaic these days.
    – Mou某 ♦
    Feb 18, 2018 at 1:58
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东方之珠 (Pearl of the Orient) is a common alias (nickname) for 香港.

香港是全球重要的国际金融、服务业及航运中心，连续多年蝉联全球最自由经济体，并以优良治安、廉洁社会、简单税制和健全的法律制度而闻名于世，因此有“东方之珠”的美誉。

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  • so interesting to know that there's actually a chinese nickname for Pearl of the Orient! By the way, is the '东方' referring to Eastern provinces of Greater China? (as I've heard 北方 used before for Beijing and upwards). Or is it just simply referring to the orient?
    – udidosa
    Feb 16, 2018 at 3:55
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    @Urvil Yes, and I suppose that "Pearl of the Orient" came from the Chinese term "东方之珠". It's hard to say that HongKang is located at the east of China, I suppose "东方" refers to the east of Asia (and the world).
    – user4072
    Feb 16, 2018 at 13:37

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