Top architectural sightseeing and landmarks of Hong Kong City - ideas on city exploration routes

» It’s an informal skyscraper resembling either a bamboo stalk or Rubik’s Snake. It was built in 1989 and was the tallest building in Asia at that time.
»  The giant tower occupies an ideal square of land with a side of 52 m.
» Its shape changing at different levels creates an unusual visual effect: both the city and the sky are reflected in its glass surfaces. And it is definitely one of Hong Kong’s landmarks.
» The unusual design of the Tower attracts not only tourists but also filmmakers: it made an appearance in films Star Trek: Voyager and Battleship.

» The Space Museum together with a planetarium is situated in the area housing a whole complex of museums and centres. The museum is attractive to visitors because they are offered and allowed not only to view the exhibits but also take part in what’s going on by activating visual aids.
» Visitors can even experience what it’s like to be on the Moon’s surface or fly a hang glider in the Grand Canyon.
» An exhibit demonstrating an example of a closed ecosystem looks very impressive. A small fish lives in a sealed aquarium with floating algae that provide it with nutrition and oxygen.
» Furthermore, popular science films about space are shown in small cinema halls.

» The Hong Kong Coliseum consists of a large arena and several conference halls. The arena is rectangular in shape.
»  The Hong Kong Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena which means its covering can be changed quickly depending on the event. Thanks to the unique structure, the area can withstand strong pressure, which makes the installation of concert platforms and sound equipment much easier. It’s very useful because the building often serves as a concert venue for popular performers.
»  Huge colour screens are installed on each of the four sides of the Hong Kong Coliseum. They are designed to show matches to spectators sitting on the other side of the stadium.
»  The Hong Kong Coliseum rents out conference rooms for congresses, conferences, and public gatherings.
»  The official name of the arena can be translated from Chinese as ‘Sports Arena’.
»  The Hong Kong Coliseum was built thanks to the city council. It was opened on 27 April 1983.
»  The Coliseum has 12,500 seats. The construction is the second largest indoor arena in Hong Kong in terms of capacity.

» The Legislative Council Building is located in Hong Kong and surrounded by skyscrapers of finance companies.
»  It was decided to build this old government building on reclaimed land. Due to this, there were no problems with building rights.
»  The foundation and poles of the Legislative Council Building were built of Chinese fir.
»  The popular building was formally opened by governor Lugar in 1912.
»  The old government building had been a court house until 1985. Later, it was rebuilt, so its purpose has changed. Nowadays, this old construction is an architectural monument.
»  The Legislative Council Building is supported by Ionic columns and has a protruding domed tower. All interior and exterior elements are designed in the neoclassical style.
»  The Legislative Council Building is distinguished by a central pediment. On it, there is the statue of the Greek goddess of justice, Themis, with her eyes closed and with scales in her hand.
»  The construction project was presented by British architect Sir Aston Webb.

» The International Finance Centre in Hong Kong was built for offices of the largest finance companies. It is a building complex that consists of a small tower, a big tower, a shopping center, the Four Seasons Hotel, and the Four Seasons Place.
» The first tower was built in 1998. It has 38 floors and is 210 m high.
» The second tower was constructed a little later due to the financial crisis in 2003. The building has 88 floors (including 22 floors of the shopping center) and is 420 m high.
» During the period of the active construction, 3 500 people worked at the same time. There are 62 two-level lifts. Under the tower, there is the Airport Express metro station.
» On the 54th floor, there are offices of the Hong Kong Finance Centre. There is also the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Hong Kong Central Library.
» When the construction was almost completed, the skyscraper appeared in such famous Hollywood films, as “The Dark Knight” where Batman “flies” from the high tower to the lower one. It also appeared in “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”. The International Finance Centre is surrounded by pedestrian bridges. The square in front of the building is always crowded.

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Facts: » The majestic snow-white building of the Kowloon Mosque is impressive in its size. The total area of the building is 1,500 square metres.
» It can accommodate 3,000 people. In addition to prayer halls, the mosque has a clinic, a huge library with the largest collection of the Quran books, a kindergarten, and a school.
» Only Muslims can enter the mosque.
» However, since recently, there have been days when the centre is open to the public. In 2017, 1,000 people visited the mosque on that day.
» The following note was left in the visitors’ book: “We get distorted information about Islam. My attitude to Islam has changed now.”