HONG KONG — Julia Lovell’s book tour for “The Opium War” sailed along the historic path of the conflict itself.

The book was introduced last month in Hong Kong, a city whose modern history began when it was handed to Britain after China’s defeat in the first Opium War in 1842, marking the start of 155 years as a prosperous crown colony.

Fourteen years after returning to Beijing’s control, the city still bears the hallmarks of that conflict.

The convention center where the Hong Kong Book Fair attracted 950,000 visitors sits on a harbor still dedicated to Queen Victoria, the reigning monarch during the Opium War. The labyrinthine streets around the SoHo district are still named after Lord Elgin, a high commissioner to China; Sir George Staunton, who worked for the British East India Company; and Henry Pottinger, the colony’s first British governor.