China: The entrance to the 19th century Man Mo Temple, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. The temple is dedicated to Man Cheong, the God of Literature, and Mo Tai, the god of Martial Arts. Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages, Hong Kong has become one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports. It is the world's tenth-largest exporter and ninth-largest importer. Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the Qing Empire ceded Hong Kong Island at the end of the First Opium War in 1842.