Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港; pinyin:Xiānggǎng; Cantonese: Heunggong), officially the Hong Kong Special Aministrative Region [pronunciation], is one of two special administrative regions of People's Republic of China, the other being Macau. The territory lies on the eastern side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province in the north and facing the South China Sea in the east, west and south. Beginning as a trading port in the 19th century, Hong Kong has developed into one of the world's leading financial centres.