1945-1960s: Postwar

Chinese refugees find a safe haven next door

Modern Hong Kong rose from the ashes of World War II, created partly out of an urgent necessity to deal with one of the greatest refugee crises of its time: a massive influx of people fleeing China's civil war.

By August 1945, after nearly four years of Japanese occupation, Hong Kong's population had been reduced to about 600,000. But within five years, the colony was home to more than 2 million.

By the late 1940s, the Chinese civil war was in its final stages, with a Communist victory not far away.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees, fleeing violence and political uncertainty on the Chinese mainland, streamed into Hong Kong during this time.

The British colonial government was quickly overwhelmed by a sea of humanity.

Charities and relief organizations did what they could, tending to the new arrivals -- most of whom lived and struggled to survive in appalling conditions.

It wasn't until 1953, when tens of thousands of refugee huts burned down in just one night, that the government was spurred into action.

A government housing program constructed vast public resettlement buildings -- mostly seven-story concrete structures -- that still make up parts of Hong Kong's landscape.

A United Nations embargo on China slowed down trade in Hong Kong's port.

It also forced the territory to find new markets and industries for its ever-growing work force, spurring Hong Kong's development as a major manufacturing and economic center.

Although China sealed its border with the colony, thousands of Chinese still risked their lives every year trying to enter Hong Kong.

By 1960, the population had grown to 3 million. It has risen steadily ever since, and stands at more than 6 million today.

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