Functionalism, Postmodernism, Modernism, etc., are all well represented in Hong Kong’s contemporary building styles.
Few of Hong Kong’s historic structures survive in the city proper due to a lack of suitable land.
Here are ten must-visit famous buildings in Hong Kong that will be worth your time and effort.
Famous Buildings in Hong Kong
1. Bank of China Tower
It is the world’s fourth-biggest financial institution and the biggest commercial bank in China. It was the Republican government of China that established the Bank of China in 1912 to serve as the country’s national bank.
After the Bank of Communications, which dates back to 1908, this is China’s second-oldest continuously operating bank.
The structure, which is one of Hong Kong’s most recognizable monuments, is distinguished by its unusual triangular frames and glass curtain walls. I.M. Pei & Partners, an architectural firm had two Chinese Americans responsible for the building’s design.
Also Read: Buildings in China
It is the fourth tallest in the country at 315 meters, with a total height of 367.4 meters including the spire’s 52.4-meter height.
On the 18th of April 1985, construction began on the new building that would replace Murray House. It was finished five years later, in 1990.
The steel-columned structure may be reached from the Central station of the MTR. Garden Road and Cotton Tree Drive are on either side of the structure. By the end of 2020, it has amassed more assets than any other bank in the world, saving the top three Chinese banks combined.
2. Chi Lin Nunnery
On Diamond Hill in Kowloon, Hong Kong, you’ll find the massive Buddhist Chi Lin Nunnery complex. In 1934 it was established as a sanctuary for Buddhist nuns, then in 1998, it was renovated in the style of the original structure from the Tang Dynasty.
Guanyin, Sakyamuni Buddha, and other bodhisattvas, as well as other deities, are depicted in the temple’s halls as statues. Stone, wood, clay, and even gold have all been used to create these figures.
Also Read: Landmarks in China
The Chi Lin Nunnery was built in the style of the Tang Dynasty, with its design inspired by a Sukhavati artwork discovered in the Mogao Caves.
The largest wooden structure in the world is built entirely from cypress wood without the use of nails. Chinese architectural principles inspired this structure’s unique interlocking systems, which were cut into the wood to keep it together.
This method is used by the traditional Chinese architectural school to illustrate man’s harmonious coexistence with the natural world.
Spanning more than 33,000 square meters, the complex includes a drum tower, a bell tower, a pagoda, a school, a library, and 16 halls. They’re the only ones in modern Hong Kong with these designs.
3. International Commerce Centre
Built-in West Kowloon, Hong Kong, the International Commerce Centre is a 108-story, 484 m (1,588 ft) tall commercial skyscraper.
Located over the Kowloon station, it is a component of the Union Square development. Based on its height, it ranks 12th, while in terms of floors, it ranks 9th.
When compared to other Asian skyscrapers, the International Commerce Centre stands tall. The Ritz-Carlton is there and has 312 rooms and the bidding also has an observatory, Sky100.
Also Read: Buildings in Singapore
Sun Hung Kai Properties and Henderson Land, two big Hong Kong developers, collaborated to create IFC.
In total, there are 108 levels aboveground plus Four below in this skyscraper. Floors that would have carried the number “4” were left out given the popularity of tetraphobia in Hong Kong. Because of this, it is advertised as a 118-story structure.
4. Central Plaza
Located at 18 Harbour Road in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, the 78-story, 374-meter-tall Central Plaza was finished that year. Once the highest reinforced concrete structure in the world, it is now the third highest building in the metropolis.
The floor plan of the structure is triangular. A four-bar neon clock, visible from a distance, blinks at the start of each new quarter and displays a different color at each interval of 15 minutes.
At a height of 378 meters above ground, an anemometer has been mounted at the very top of the building’s mast. The 102 m of the mast’s height is a literal measurement. It is also home to Sky City Church, the tallest house of worship building in the world.
There is a beautiful garden with a fountain, trees, and artificial stone flooring that spans 8,400 square meters over the ground floor and a public sitting area.
The podium does not feature any advertisements. Three pedestrian bridges connect the Mass Transit Railway station, the Convention and Exhibition Centre, as well as the China Resource Building, all from the ground floor.
5. Court of Final Appeal
The Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong is located in the Court of Final Appeal Building, often renowned as the Old Supreme Court.
It may be found in Central at 8 Jackson Road, just to the west of Chater Garden on the eastern side of Statue Square. Its exterior, as the Old Supreme Court, is a protected Hong Kong landmark.
The New Law Courts can be found on the southern side. Designed in England, its flat roof is the building’s most distinctive feature.
On reclaimed land, the structure was constructed. Scores of Chinese fir tree stumps were driven into the site’s recovery debris and silt to build the structure’s foundation. Since this is the case, the building is essentially “floating” on a raft made of lumber
Also Read: Famous Buildings in the Philippines
To keep the groundwater level at an appropriate level, this type of foundation system must be constructed. It is symmetrical and arranged in a rectangle shape.
With its surrounding columns, the building has a total floor space of about 2,660 square meters. In terms of height, the bronze Tudor Crown is roughly 40 meters.
6. The Center
After four other Hong Kong skyscrapers, The Center is the fifth-tallest building in the city. It reaches a height of 346 meters and has 73 stories.
For HK$40.2 billion, the sale of The Center was announced in November 2017 as the most expensive sale of a single building in the history of the real estate industry.
The Center is among the tallest steel structures on earth, one of few in Hong Kong. Its structure is made entirely of steel, rather than reinforced concrete. Situated at 99 Queen’s Road Central, it is conveniently situated between the Sheung Wan and Central stations on the MTR Island line.
At night, the center’s exterior is illuminated by hundreds of neon lights, which are displayed in a bar pattern that increases in frequency as it rises.
The lights slowly cycle through the colors of the rainbow. The building’s neon display takes on a holiday theme and mimics a Christmas tree around the holiday season.
7. Hopewell Centre
The Hopewell Centre is a 222-meter (728-foot) tall, 64-story building in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island. It is located at 183 Queen’s Road East.
The tower is the city’s first circular high-rise. The skyscraper was developed by Hopewell Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed real estate company, hence the name.
Gordon Wu, CEO of Hopewell Holdings Limited, works from an office in the building’s penthouse. Starting in 1977, construction was finished in 1980. After it was finished, Hopewell Centre became taller than Jardine House in Hong Kong.
Even more impressively, it was the second-tallest structure in all of Asia. Even after the Bank of China Tower was built in Hong Kong and surpassed it in 1989, it remained the tallest building in the city. In terms of height, this structure is presently the 20th-tallest in all of Hong Kong.
8. Jardine House
The Hong Kong office building is the Jardine House. Address: 1 Connaught Place,
As of 1980, the Hopewell Centre is the tallest layout in Hong Kong, dethroning the former champion, the Bank of China Tower.
Connected to other Hongkong Land Limited structures like the International Finance Centre and the Exchange Square through the Central Elevated Walkway.
Most Jardines companies, notably Jardine Matheson Holdings and Hongkong Land, are established and domiciled in Bermuda, and therefore do business out of a second Jardine House in Hamilton, Bermuda.
9. Innovation Tower
Located in the Hung Hom area of Kowloon, the Jockey Club Innovation Tower is a campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Zaha Hadid, who was awarded the Pritzker Prize, was responsible for its design.
This structure is her first major Hong Kong commission. The project, which was supposed to be finished by the climax of 2011, did not end up being finished until 2014.
In 2007, Zaha Hadid’s firm was chosen as the winner of a contest to design the structure. The tower can be found in the far reaches of the northern campus.
The finished skyscraper had a net operational floor space of around 12,000 square meters, enough to house around 1,800 workers and students.
10. HSBC Building
HSBC’s local outpost in Hong Kong is called the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. HSBC, the largest bank in Hong Kong, has locations all over the world, including the countries in the Indo-Pacific.
In addition, it is one of only three commercial banks in Hong Kong authorized to print the country’s dollar banknotes by its Monetary Authority.
Established in British Hong Kong in 1865, Shanghai Bank and Hongkong became a corporation in 1866 under the name The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and has maintained a presence in Hong Kong (albeit through a subsidiary) ever since.
In 1989, the company’s name was changed to “The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.”