The First Six Years 1963-69

Current research work falls into two broad categories: geo graphical studies o f China and geographical studies o f Hong Kong. The studies o f China are, in turn, divided into two branches: ( I ) Historical and cultural geography o f China and (2) Contem porary Chinese geographical studies. In doing research on the historical and cultural geography o f China ， local gazettes. The Twenty-jive Histories, famous travels and other historical records are studied. I f practical, historical facts are presented through mapping. To date, the Centre has completed about 90 historical maps, in cluding those showing the po litical divisions, the population dis tribu tion o f each dynasty, the bu ild ing dates and sizes o f the walled- cities and the birth-places o f Chin-shih or persons o f advanced scholarship equivalent to the modern Ph.D. Because the collection o f classic books in the libraries o f Hong Kong is lim ited, much o f the required information must be obtained from the leading lib ra ries in Japan. The ultimate aim o f this research is to define the cultural regions o f China and to produce a set o f historical and cultural maps. Another facet o f the research on China is the annotation o f “ Selected Famous Chinese Travels". In preparing these annota tions, modern geographical concepts and methods are used. The Geographical Research Centre has already published three reports on this topic and work is under way on other famous travels. The research on contemporary Chinese geographical studies stresses the changes in the geography o f China which have occurred in the past 20 years. Research progress in this field is inh ib ited by the d ifficu lty in obtaining current and authoritative information. A t present ， five reports have either been published or are in the process o f being printed. The Centre has also undertaken two comprehensive research projects involving both historical and contemporary geographies o f China. One is “ The Development o f Cartography in Ch ina". Many rare maps o f China ， including the world's only hand-drawn copy o f “ The Map o f The Great W a ll" , are reproduced in this article. The second is “ The Study o f Place-names o f China ” ， which is well under way. The Centre had to begin its geographical studies o f Hong Kong by preparing a series o f Socio-Economic Maps o f Hong Kong because o f the lack o f any previous systematic research. A t present, 30 sheets o f maps have been produced from data obtained mainly from field survey. This series o f maps is a useful source o f reference for those who want to understand the socio-economic conditions o f Hong Kong. Four have been published, one o f which. The Function al Land Useof Urban Areas in Hong Kong, is reproduced in 16 colours. A Population Study o f Hong Kong ， one o f the current research 46