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Bank of China Tower Review
Read our Hong Kong sights reviews. Or post your own.
Bank of China Tower
- Address: 1 Garden Rd., Central, Hong Kong, China
- Phone: No phone
- Category: Architectural Sites, Financial Institutions
- Location: Central
Fodor's Review:
In the politics of Hong Kong architecture, the stylish art deco building that served as the old Bank of China headquarters was the first trump: built after World War II, it was 20 feet higher than the adjacent Hongkong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC). In 1985 HSBC finished a steel-and-glass structure that dwarfed the old Bank of China, whose officials in turn commissioned the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei to build a bigger, better headquarters, which was completed in the early 1990s.
Architectural Assessement: Although it's not as innovative as the HSBC skyscraper, the Bank of China Tower is a masterful, twisting spire of replicating triangles (uh oh). As the first building to break the ridgeline of Victoria Peak, it dominates Hong Kong's landscape and embodies the post-handover balance of power. Its 43rd-floor observation deck also offers panoramic, uncrowded Central views.
Feng Shui Assessment: The tower has some of the worst feng shui in town. Some say that because the building thins at the top, it resembles a screwdriver -- one that's drilling the wealth out of Hong Kong; others prefer the metaphor of a knife into the heart of the SAR. The two antennas sticking out of the top are said to resemble the two incense sticks burned for the dead. Circles, which look like coins, bring prosperity. The opposite effect is supposedly caused by the building's triangular angles and sharp edges -- indeed, many believe that it has had a negative affect on nearby structures. The Lippo Centre, which faces one of the triangles, was formerly the Bond Centre, owned by disgraced Australian businessman Allen Bond, who was forced to sell the building because of financial troubles. Local gossip has it that Government House -- still the residence of colonial governors when the bank was built -- was the target of these bad vibes. Indeed, after the handover, Hong Kong's first chief executive, Tung Chee-Hwa, refused to live there, citing its bad feng shui.
- Cost: Free
- Open: Observation deck: weekdays 8-6, Sat. 9-1
- Metro: Central MTR, Exit J2
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