Behind and beyond the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, there is a rich and varied natural landscape. This book explains, with the aid of many photographs and specially drawn diagrams and maps, how geological, biological, and agricultural processes slowly produced the natural landscape; and how the rapid expansion of the population had a swift impact and major effect on how the land of Hong Kong looks today.

Geologists Bernie Owen and Raynor Shaw have walked, investigated and photographed every corner of Hong Kong from Fan Lau in the very south of Lantau Island to Ping Chau in Mirs Bay in the far northeast of the New Territories. They take an holistic approach to landscape development, and examine both natural processes and human influences on landscape. In doing so, they explore the contributions of different rock types, geological structures and modern surface processes, as well as the profound influence of man through the last few decades and centuries.