Would you like to travel to Hong Kong?

Pupils learn about the island location of Hong Kong in a global context and follow the flight path from London to Hong Kong International Airport, discussing the range of countries and oceans they cross on route.

Key Questions

Where is London? Where is Hong Kong?

Can you find Hong Kong on a map?

Which countries do you fly over when travelling by aeroplane from London to Hong Kong?

What is a journey? What types of transport do people use for journeys of different distances?

What is a city? What is a country and what is a continent? How do they compare?

What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

How do I travel from London to Hong Kong? Which direction am I travelling?

Which geographical features do I see when flying over a continent or a country?

Key Ideas

Hong Kong is a large city in the country of China in the continent of Asia.

London is located in the United Kingdom and is its capital city.  It is located in the Northern hemisphere, in the continent of Europe.

Hong Kong is located in the continent of Asia (eastern). It is along the southeast coast of mainland China, and is located in both the eastern and

Northern hemispheres. Hong Kong is bordered by Deep Bay, Mirs Bay, the South China Sea, and mainland China. Hong Kong’s geographical position means it is a gateway between the East and West (attractive centre for international trade).

Hong Kong is also home to more than 200 Outlying Islands, including Lantau Island, where Hong Kong International Airport is located.

From London to Hong Kong, it takes about 12 hours to fly by aeroplane, travelling east.

The aeroplane flight passes over countries including Austria, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and mainland China.

The difference between a continent, a country and a city: a continent is one of the earth’s main continuous expanses of land, made up of many countries. A country is a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory. A city is a very large urban area within a country.

Seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet. Typically, seas are partially enclosed by land.

Additional Resources

• Globe

• World map

• Atlas for each table or talk partner pair

• Google maps (on Interactive Whiteboard)

Web links

To download Google Earth, click here
To view the flight path from London to Hong Kong on Google Maps go to Google Maps

Learning Objective

To discover the location of Hong Kong and map the route from London to Hong Kong.

Starter

Ask a pupil to read the letter on the Would you like to travel to Hong Kong? PowerPoint presentation (see downloadable resources). 

Pose the questions:

• How would you feel if you received this letter? 

• How many different methods of transport can you think of?  What is your favourite and why? 

• Where are you going?  How will you get there?  Which continent do you live on and which does James live on?

• Which countries will you need to fly over?

Pupils use the globe, world map and Google maps to help them answer the questions.

Main Activity

Use the Would you like to travel to Hong Kong? PowerPoint presentation (see downloadable resources) to guide pupils through the journey they would take if they travelled to Hong Kong. Discuss the range of different transport modes, flight map and photographs.

Encourage pupils to consider the factors that determine the type of transport used for different parts of the journey. For example, the distance and the geographical features of the places passed on the journey. Pose questions such as:

• What would be the best mode of transport to cross over mountain peaks without roads?

• What would be the best mode of transport to reach one of the islands off Hong Kong?

• Which is the most efficient mode of transport to travel vast distances?

Display the flight path map from London to Hong Kong using the PowerPoint presentation or Google Maps (see web links). Use the atlas to look at the countries you might be flying over.  

Ask pupils to use their atlases to explore the countries, landscapes, and cities that the aeroplane passes over on the route. Pose the questions:

• Which compass direction will you be flying? 

• Do you fly over ocean or land?

• The yellow flightpath passes near to three capital cities.  Which countries are they the capital city of? 

• Which country do you fly over for the longest time and distance? 

• Can you name the area between Delhi and Chengdu?

Continue to follow the route to Hong Kong using the PowerPoint presentation slides. Slide nine shows a photograph of the view over Hong Kong airport, pose the questions:

• How would you describe the airport?

• Where are the runways? 

• Where is the terminal building? 

• Where are the road and the railway located?

Explain to the pupils that Hong Kong International Airport is built on reclaimed land from the sea, north of Lantau Island.  It is man-made island built for the airport only.  The sea was shallow here so a big wall was built on the sea bed around the edge and then sea water was pumped out and then rocks and earth were used to build new land above the level of the sea.  It can be hazy around the airport as in summer it is very humid and hot and sometimes Hong Kong’s air is polluted.  The planes can add to the pollution.

Pupils use their atlas and the PowerPoint maps to label the countries that their aeroplane passes over on its journey from London to Hong Kong. They mark the flight path and create a map key with important symbols. Pupils can also add in some major cities, oceans/ seas and Himalaya mountain range if they have time.

Extension
Using the globe plan a round the world itinerary including the cities: London Hong Kong, Toronto, and New York. Ask pupils to note three physical features (oceans, mountain ranges) or places they pass over.  

Plenary

Pose the questions:

• How many countries did you travel over to reach Hong Kong?

• Which countries did you fly over?

• Which continent is Hong Kong in?