Hong Kong SAR, China, is a dynamic metropolis renowned for its dramatic topography and dense urban development nestled among steep hillsides. This unique landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for slope researchers, offering a living laboratory to study innovative slope management and sustainable urban planning in a subtropical, high-rainfall environment.
Over 60% of Hong Kong's land area is natural terrain, and its Catalogue of Slopes currently registers about 60,000 man-made slopes. On average, about 300 landslides are reported to the government annually. In 1977, the Hong Kong government established a geotechnical control body, now known as the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) under the Civil Engineering and Development Department. The GEO has made strenuous efforts to address landslide risks and regulate geotechnical works, significantly reducing landslide-related losses across the territory. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to examine these achievements firsthand during a field excursion to landslide sites and mitigation projects on February 9th.
The Field Geological Survey will take place on 9 February 2026 (from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm, including a light lunch), featuring the Hong Kong Geopark (High Island Reservoir East Dam).
During construction of the reservoir, stone was quarried from the cliffs around the East Dam. The excavation work revealed globally rare rhyolitic volcanic hexagonal rock columns and the site became the best spot to see this geo-wonder at close range. The East Dam of High Island Reservoir has so much to offer: magnificent uplands, reservoir bank slopes, coastal slopes, various geological structures and wave-cut landforms. Early Cretaceous rhyolitic columnar rock formation of Hong Kong Geopark selected as one of the First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites in October 2022. It marks that the formation has been recognized by international scientific organizations as one of the 100 most important geological heritage in the world.
Below is the roadmap for the Field Geological Survey:
The (morning) meeting point is at the gate (G floor) of the Block Z, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
