The Outlying Islands refers to all the islands that make up the territory of Hong Kong, with the exception of Hong Kong Island. There are 263 islands over 500 m2 in Hong Kong, the vast majority of which are located within the New Territories and significant numbers of them are located in Islands District in the south and southwest, Sai Kung District in the southeast, and Tai Po District and North District in the northeast. The term outlying is not strictly defined and in some cases islands very close to Hong Kong Island and mainland China are not included.