Hong Kong Travel Guide - Communications

Country code: 852. Local public telephone calls can be made either with phonecards or coins. Local calls are free from private phones.

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Mobile telephones also function all over the underground network, thanks to transmitters installed in the tunnels. It is possible to hire a mobile phone at the international airport.

Internet facilities are available at libraries and Internet cafes are plentiful. Many cafes and hotels offer Wi-Fi access.

Regular postal services are available. Airmail to Europe takes three to five days. 

Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1800; Sat 0800-1400.

Hong Kong has one of the world's largest film industries and is a major centre for broadcasting and publishing. Hong Kong's media are a lot more editorially free than the rest of China. However, there is still reported self-censorship and pressure on editorial policies. Many international and pan-Asian broadcasters are based in the territory. Hong Kong's terrestrial commercial TV networks, TVB and ATV, can also be received in neighbouring Guangdong province. Public broadcaster Radio-TV Hong Kong (RTHK) operates several radio and TV networks. There are scores of Chinese-language newspapers and a handful of English-language dailies.

• Renmin Ribao (People's Daily) is the Communist party daily newspaper.
• English-language dailies include Asian Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Standard.

• Radio-TV Hong Kong (RTHK) is government funded.
• Asia TV (ATV) and Television Broadcasts (TVB) are private, terrestrial broadcasters.

• Radio-TV Hong Kong (RTHK) operates seven networks in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
• Commercial Radio operates CR1, CR2 networks in Cantonese and medium-wave (AM) station AM 864.
• Metro Broadcast operates Metro Showbiz, Metro Finance and the English-language Metro Plus.