Hong Kong

Architecture

:Main article: Architecture of Hong Kong

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Few historical buildings remain in Hong Kong. Instead the city has become a centre for modern architecture, especially in and around Central. The tall business buildings of Central comprise the skyline along the coast of the Victoria Harbour, which is one of Hong Kong's famous tourist attractions. In Kowloon, strict height restrictions were in force until Kai Tak Airport closed in 1998, but these restrictions have now been lifted, and several new skyscrapers in Kowloon are being planned.

Related Topics:
Modern architecture - Central - Victoria Harbour - Kowloon - Kai Tak Airport

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Hong Kong's best-known building is arguably Ieoh Ming Pei's Bank of China Tower, completed in 1990 (Foster's HSBC Headquarters is another contender). The building attracted heated controversy from the start, as its sharp angles were said to cast negative feng shui energy into the heart of Hong Kong. The two white aerials on top on the building were deemed inauspicious as two sticks of incense are burned for the dead. Predating the Bank of China Tower, there is the HSBC Headquarters Building, finished in 1985. This building is featured on many of Hong Kong's banknotes. It was built on the site of Hong Kong's first skyscraper, which was finished in 1935 and was the subject of a bitter heritage conservation struggle in the late 1970s.

Related Topics:
Ieoh Ming Pei - Bank of China Tower - Feng shui - Aerial - Incense - HSBC Headquarters Building - Hong Kong's banknote - Conservation

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One of the largest construction projects in Hong Kong and the world has been the new Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok near Lantau, a huge land reclamation project linked to the centre of Hong Kong by the Lantau Link, which features three new major bridges: the world's sixth largest suspension bridge, Tsing Ma, the world's longest cable-stayed bridge carrying both road and railway traffic, Kap Shui Mun, and the world's first major 4-span cable-stayed bridge, Ting Kau.

Related Topics:
Hong Kong International Airport - Chek Lap Kok - Lantau - Lantau Link - Bridge - Sixth largest - Suspension bridge - Tsing Ma - Cable-stayed bridge - Kap Shui Mun - Ting Kau

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