Hong Kong, one of the last British colonies, is being returned to China in 1997. A final symbol of the end of British colonialism, this retrocession is one of the most significant events in the decolonisation movement of the twentieth century. The event not only implies an irreversible "destiny" shared by all western colonies in postcolonial times, but also, from a particular angle, sheds light on future developments of our planet at the turning point of the twenty-first century. Such a perspective is, at first, based on the specific reality of Hong Kong itself. In terms of economic development, it is one of the most active areas in the world today. Geographically, it is a bridge between the East and the West, the North and the South, while maintaining a special cultural structure that combines Chinese tradition and western influences. Such a combination, or hybridity, is producing a unique and open model of modernity which is by no means short on innovation and vitality. Hong Kong's neighbours are following with their own modernisation process, notably the "motherland" of Mainland China.