'The British control of Hong Kong began in 1842, when China was forced to cede Hong Kong Island to Britain after the First Opium War. In 1984 Britain and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which stipulated that Hong Kong return to Chinese rule in 1997 as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. The Joint Declaration and a Chinese law called the Basic Law, which followed in 1990, provide for the SAR to operate with a high degree of economic autonomy for 50 years beyond 1997.' Krazy Kow: http://www.ibiblio.org/chinesehistory/contents/04ear/c01.html

1) "Kowloon refers to an urban area in Hong Kong made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of 2,019,533 and its population density was 43,033/km² in 2006. The peninsula's area is approximately 47 km² or 18.1 mi². Together with Hong Kong Island, it contains 48% of Hong Kong's total population. The more accurate transcription Kau Lung or Kau-lung was often used in derived place names before World War II, for example Kau-lung Bay instead of Kowloon Bay." "The part of Kowloon south of Boundary Street, together with Stonecutters Island, was ceded by Qing China to the United Kingdom under the Convention of Peking of 1860. For many years the area remained largely undeveloped, used by the British mainly for tiger-hunting expeditions. The part of Kowloon north of Boundary Street (New Kowloon) was leased by the British as part of the New Territories in 1898 for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is the Kowloon City, which refers to an area, where the Kowloon Walled City used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in 1993. The same area was called 官富場 (Pinyin: Guanfuchang) during the Song Dynasty. In modern day conversations, however, New Kowloon is often not regarded as part of the New Territories, but as an integral part of the Kowloon urban area on both sides of Boundary Street. For rates tax purposes, New Kowloon is not considered part of Kowloon. Properties in New Kowloon are subjected to pay the land leases as those in the New Territories." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon 2) "The Convention of Peking or the First Convention of Peking is the name used for three different treaties, which were concluded between Qing China and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia." "- Background On 18 October 1860, at the culmination of the Second Opium War, the British and French troops entered the Forbidden City in Beijing. Following the decisive defeat of the Chinese, Prince Gong was compelled to sign two treaties on behalf of the Qing government with Lord Elgin and Baron Gros, who represented Britain and France respectively. Although Russia had not been a belligerent, Prince Gong also signed a treaty with Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky. The original plan was to burn down the Forbidden City as punishment for the mistreatment of European prisoners by Qing officials. Because doing so would jeopardize the treaty signing, the plan shifted to burning the Emperor's garden estates of QÄ«ngyÄ« Yuán and Yuánmíng Yuán instead. The treaties with France and Britain were signed in the Ministry of Rites building immediately south of the Forbidden City on 24 October 1860. - Terms Prince Gong, photographed by Felice Beato, 2 November 1860, just days before he would sign the treaty.[1]The area known as Kowloon was originally leased in March 1860. The Convention of Peking ended the lease, and ceded the land formally to the British on 24 October 1860. Article 6 of the Convention between China and the United Kingdom stipulated that China was to cede the part of Kowloon Peninsula south of present day Boundary Street, Kowloon, and Hong Kong (including Stonecutters Island) in perpetuity to Britain. The treaty also ceded parts of Outer Manchuria to the Russian Empire. It granted Russia the right to the Ussuri krai, a part of the modern day Primorye, the territory that corresponded with the ancient Manchu province of East Tartary. The treaty is considered one of the unequal Treaties. - Aftermath The governments of the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China (PRC) concluded the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong in 1984, under which the sovereignty of the leased territories, together with Hong Kong Island, ceded under the Treaty of Nanking (1842), and Kowloon (south of Boundary Street), was scheduled to be transferred to the PRC on 1 July 1997."