In front of you is HSBC's headquarters, designed by Norman Foster and completed in 1985. At the time it was the most expensive building in the world. It was built from modules prefabricated in several countries and has no interior columns: the floors hang from huge steel structures. The ground floor is a public plaza you can walk through.

1Stephen and Stitt

Look for the two bronze lions. They were commissioned for the previous building and installed in 1935. They are named after two of the bank's managers: Stephen, roaring, and Stitt, at rest. During the occupation the Japanese took them to Japan to be melted down; an American sailor recognised them in an Osaka dockyard in 1945, and they were back in place in 1946. Stephen still shows shrapnel scars from the Battle of Hong Kong.

Many locals stroke their paws for luck, and when they had to be moved during construction, feng shui masters were consulted.

2Cannons against the Bank of China?

Look at the roof: two maintenance cranes point outwards. A much-repeated story says the bank installed them as «cannons» to bounce back the bad energy from its neighbour, the Bank of China. But the cranes were already in the original 1985 design, and the Bank of China was not finished until 1990.

The building's feng shui, open to the harbour, is considered excellent; the cannon war is a modern legend.

3What to look for

  • The shrapnel marks on Stephen's flank.
  • The rooftop cranes, the famous «cannons».
  • The glass ceiling of the plaza, which lets light into the lobby.
One of the bronze HSBC lions in front of the tower entrance, surrounded by people on a Sunday
One of HSBC's two bronze lions, cast in 1935.

Documented

Norman Foster's tower was completed in 1985; the 1935 lions were taken to Japan during the occupation and returned in 1946, and one still bears shrapnel marks.

Oral tradition

That the cranes are «cannons» aimed at the Bank of China is a legend disproved by the dates; the good luck of touching the lions is a popular belief.

Sources and credits

HSBC, «Our history: The Hong Kong headquarters» (official website); Stephanie Williams, «Hongkong Bank: The Building of Norman Foster's Masterpiece» (1989); Frank H. H. King, «The History of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation» (1987-1991).

Photos:

  • The HSBC tower in Hong Kong, grey steel with exposed structure and cranes on the roof, behind palm trees: -jkb-, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • One of the bronze HSBC lions in front of the tower entrance, surrounded by people on a Sunday: OiA la MELCHOW, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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