Evening over Hong Kong.
Evening over Hong Kong.
The history of skyscrapers in Hong Kong began in 1935 with the completion of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank building, which is regarded as the first high-rise in the city. The building stood 70 m (230 ft) tall with 13 floors and existed for five decades before being demolished for the construction of the HSBC Main Building. High-rise construction was limited in the early part of the 20th century, but beginning in the 1970s, Hong Kong experienced widespread building construction that has continued to the present; this boom is in large part a result of the city's rugged, mountainous terrain and lack of flat land. The city entered into a building boom from 1980 to 1993, during which 22 of the city's 112 tallest buildings were constructed, including the Hopewell Centre, Bank of China Tower, and Central Plaza. Original public domain image from Flickr