Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [37]
ONE & TWO INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CENTRE Map
MTR Hong Kong (exit F)
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 (1 Harbour View St), which opened in 1999, is a ‘mere’ 39 levels tall. At 88 storeys, Two IFC (8 Finance St) was until recently Hong Kong’s tallest (though not prettiest) building. Given the local penchant for bestowing nicknames on everything, Two IFC has been christened ‘Sir YK Pao’s Erection’, a reference to the owner of the company that built the tower. The claimant to the title of Hong Kong’s tallest building now looms across the water in West Kowloon: the 118-floor, 484m (1590ft) International Commerce Centre ( Map).
You can’t get to the top of Two IFC, but you can get pretty high up by visiting the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre ( 2878 1111; www.info.gov.hk/hkma/; 55th fl, Two IFC, 8 Finance St; admission free; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat), which contains a research library and exhibition areas related to Hong Kong’s currency, fiscal policy and banking history. There are guided tours at 2.30pm Monday to Friday, and 10.30am Saturday.
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EXPLORING HONG KONG’S HEART
Walking Tour
1 Legislative Council Building Begin the walk at Statue Sq and take in the handsome outline of the neo-classical Legislative Council Building ( Click here), one of the few colonial-era survivors in the area and the seat of Hong Kong’s modern legislature.
2 Bank of China Tower Begin walking southwest through Chater Garden park and cross over Garden Rd to the angular, modern lines of the Bank of China Tower ( Click here), with amazing views from the 43rd floor.
3 Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware Duck into Hong Kong Park for this free museum (opposite) displaying valuable pots, cups and other elegant tea ware. Sample some of China’s finest teas down in the serene cafe.
4 St John’s Cathedral From here take ele-vated walkways west over Cotton Tree Dr, through Citybank Plaza, over Garden Rd and through Cheung Kong Garden to the cathedral ( Click here), dating from 1849. It is a modest building to earn the title of cathedral, especially so set among the towering corporate cathedrals now surrounding it, but it is an important historic Hong Kong monument all the same.
5 HSBC building Follow Battery Path past the Former French Mission Building ( Click here) to Ice House St. Cross over and walk right (east) along Queen’s Rd Central to the HSBC building ( Click here) and up the escalator, if it’s open, to the large airy atrium. Walk through the ground-floor plaza to pat Stephen and Stitt (see the boxed text), the two lions guarding the exit to Des Voeux Rd Central. The closest Central MTR station entrance is then a short distance to the north along the pedestrian walkway between Statue Sq and Prince’s Building.
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WALK FACTS
Start Statue Sq, Central
End Central MTR station (entrance/exit K)
Distance 1.5km
Time 45 minutes
Fuel stop Museum of Tea Ware Café
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ADMIRALTY & WAN CHAI
Shopping Click here; Eating Click here; Drinking Click here; Nightlife Click here; The Arts Click here; Sleeping Click here
To the east of Central is Admiralty ( Map), which is very much a business district. It’s an area the casual visitor might not even notice were it not for the dominating Pacific Place shopping centre (Click here) and several modern buildings of note, including the blindingly gold Far East Finance Centre ( Map; 16 Harcourt Rd), known locally as the ‘Amah’s Tooth’ in reference to the traditional Chinese maids’ preference for gold fillings and caps.
East of Admiralty is one of Hong Kong Island’s most famous districts: Wan Chai ( Map), or ‘Little Bay