# Hong

/ˈhɔŋ/ (US) · /hˈɒŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hong
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. historical trading company

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Technical

a large business or trading house in China that dealt with foreign merchants in the past.

For teachers: a commercial establishment or merchant house in China, particularly one of the licensed firms that held a monopoly on trade with Westerners in Canton.

- The merchant grew very wealthy by running a successful hong in the city of Canton.
- The Thirteen Factories in Canton were the principal sites where the hongs managed the lucrative tea and silk trade with the British East India Company.

Usage: Usually appears in historical texts discussing the 'Canton System' or 19th-century trade.

Teaching tip: This is a highly specialized historical term. Students are unlikely to encounter it outside of academic history or literature set in imperial China.

## Examples

- The old hong managed trade between the two ports for decades.
- Many of the modern skyscrapers in the city center are still owned by the descendants of the original hong families.
- The economic landscape of colonial Hong Kong was dominated by a few powerful hongs that controlled everything from shipping and insurance to the lucrative opium and tea trades.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.