Map of the Xin'an District, Guangdong Province

This map of Xin'an County and Hong Kong was drawn by an Italian missionary, Monsignor Simeone Volonteri, in 1868 after a 4-year land survey, who made use of the newest cartographic technique in drawing navigational charts and furnishing the map with graticule and well defined keys. To show the difference in jurisdiction, the Chinese territory is outlined in blue, whereas the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the Stonecutters Island under British rule are enclosed in yellow. A very unusual feature is the substantial number of place names in Hong Kong with bilingual illustrations. The map provides rich information on the distribution of market places, villages and Roman Catholic chapels in the region, contributing greatly to the study of the development of the Guangdong area in the mid 19th century.