Showing 1-17 of 17 results
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Bank Of China Buildings
The old Bank of China (BOC) building (2A Des Voeux Rd), built in 1950, now houses the bank's Central branch and, on the top three (13th to 15th) floors, the exclusive China Club, which evokes the atmosphere of old Shanghai. The BOC is now headquartered in the awesome Bank of China Tower (1 Garden Rd) to the southeast, designed by Chinese-born American architect IM Pei and completed in 1990.
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Central Library
This architectural monstrosity, a 12-storey neoclassical-postmodern building with Ionic columns, a Roman pediment and sandy-yellow tiles, is both a research and lending library and contains some 1.2 million volumes. It also has some 24 public-access computer terminals where you can check emails and surf the web.
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Central Plaza
At just under 374m, Central Plaza, which was completed in 1992, is just 3m shorter than the newer Two IFC. The glass skin of the tower has three different colours - gold, silver and terracotta - and the overall impression is rather garish.
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Exchange Square
West of Jardine House, this complex of three elevated office towers is home to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a number of businesses and offices. Access is via a network of overhead pedestrian walkways stretching west to Sheung Wan and linked to many of the buildings on the other side of Connaught Rd.
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Former KCR Clock Tower
Immediately east of Star Ferry pier, this 44m-high clock tower (1915) was once part of the southern terminus of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR). Operations moved to the modern train station at Hung Hom to the northeast in late 1975. The station was demolished in 1978, though you can see a scale model of what it looked like if you visit the Hong Kong Railway Museum in Tai Po in the New Territories.
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Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre
Due north of the Wan Chai MTR station, the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, which was built in 1988 and extended onto a man-made island in the harbour for the handover in 1997, has been variously compared with a bird's wing, a banana leaf and a lotus petal.
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Hong Kong University
Established in 1911, HKU is the oldest and most prestigious of Hong Kong's eight universities. The Main Building, completed in the Edwardian style in 1912, is a declared monument. Several other early-20th-century buildings on the campus, including the Hung Hing Ying (1919) and Tang Chi Ngong Buildings (1929), are also protected.
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Hongkong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC) Building
The two bronze lions guarding what is now HSBC (formerly the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank) headquarters main entrance were designed by British sculptor WW Wagstaff to mark the opening of the bank's previous headquarters in 1935. The lions are known as Stephen - to the left as you face them - and Stitt, after two bank employees of the time. The Japanese used the lions as target practice during the occupation; you can still see bullet holes on Stitt.
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Jardine House
A short distance southeast of Star Ferry pier, this 52-storey silver monolith punctured with 1750 porthole-like windows was Hong Kong's first true 'skyscraper' when it opened as the Connaught Centre in 1973. Hong Kong Chinese like giving nicknames to things (and people, be they friend or foe) and the centre has been dubbed the 'House of 1000 Arseholes'.
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Kwun Yam Shrine
Towards the southeast end of Repulse Bay Beach is an unusual shrine to Kwun Yam. The surrounding area has an amazing assembly of deities and figures - goldfish, rams, the money god and other southern Chinese icons, as well as statues of the goddess of mercy and Tin Hau. Most of the statues were funded by local personalities and businesspeople during the 1970s. In front of the shrine to the left as you face the sea is Longevity Bridge; crossing it is supposed to add three days to your life.
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Lower Albert Road & Ice House Street
Lower Albert Rd, where the massive SAR Government Headquarters (18 Lower Albert Rd) is located, has many interesting buildings. The attractive off-white stucco and red-brick structure at the top of the road is the Dairy Farm Building, built for the Dairy Farm Ice & Cold Storage Company in 1898 and renovated in 1913.
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Murray House
At the start of the Chung Hom Kok Peninsula across the bay from Stanley Main St, the waterfront promenade lined with bars and restaurants, stands this three-storey colonnaded affair. Built in 1848 as officers' quarters, it took pride of place in Central, on the spot where the Bank of China Tower now stands, for almost 150 years until 1982. It was re-erected here and opened in 2001 after, well, a slight glitch.
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Old Wan Chai Post Office
A short distance to the east of Wan Chai Market is this important colonial-style building erected in 1913 and now serving as a resource centre operated by the Environmental Protection Department (2893 2856; ; - Mon-Tue & Thu-Sat, - Wed, - Sun).
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One & Two International Finance Centre
These two tapering, pearl-coloured colossi sit atop the International Finance Centre (IFC) Mall and Hong Kong station, terminus of the Airport Express and the Tung Chung lines. Both were partly designed by Cesar Pelli, the man responsible for Canary Wharf in London. One IFC, which opened in 1999, is a 'mere' 38 levels tall. At 88 storeys, Two IFC, topped out in mid-2003, is Hong Kong's tallest (though not prettiest) building.
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Peak Galleria
Both the Peak Tower and the neighbouring Peak Galleria are designed to withstand winds of up to 270km/h, theoretically more than the maximum velocity of a No 10 typhoon. You can reach the Peak Galleria's viewing deck, which is larger than the one in the Peak Tower, by taking the escalator to level 3. Inside the centre you'll find a number of expensive restaurants and retail shops, from art galleries to duty-free stores.
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Peak Tower
The Peak Tower, with its attractions, shops and restaurants, is a good place to bring the kids. On level 4 there's an outpost of Madame Tussauds with eerie (and scary) wax likenesses of international stars as well as local celebrities such as Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Michelle Yeoh and Kelly Chen. There is an open-air viewing terrace with coin-operated binoculars on level 5.
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Statue Square
Statue Square, due south of Star Ferry pier, is divided roughly in half by Charter Rd. In the northern part, reached via a pedestrian underpass from the pier, is the Cenotaph (Greek for 'empty tomb'; 1923), a memorial to Hong Kong residents killed during the two world wars. Due west is the venerable Mandarin Oriental, which opened in 1963 and is consistently voted the best hotel in the world.
Showing 1-17 of 17 results
