Victoria, officially
City of Victoria, is a city in
Hong Kong. It is the first urban settlement in Hong Kong. It was initially named
'Queenstown' but was soon re-named 'Victoria', in honour of
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It has been regarded, particularly from 1841 until the 1997 handover, as the de facto capital of Hong Kong, since the
Hong Kong government's headquarters is located in the city. Over the course of its history, Victoria has expanded from a small town covering the original
Sheung Wan,
Central, and
Wan Chai areas into a busy city with a large population.