Bank of China Tower

The Bank of China Tower is one of the most recognized skyscrapers in Central, Hong Kong. It houses the headquarters for the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited. The building is located at 1 Garden Road, in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island.

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Chinese American architect I. M. Pei, the building is 305.0 metres (1,000.7 ft) high with two masts reaching 367.4 metres (1,205.4 ft) high. The 72 story building was built in 1989 and is located near Central MTR station. This was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992, and it was the first building outside the United States to break the 305 m (1,000 ft) mark. That also means it was the tallest outside America from its completion year, 1990. It is now the third tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after Two International Finance Center and Central Plaza.

The structural expressionism adopted in the design of this building resembles growing bamboo shoots, symbolising livelihood and prosperity. The whole structure is supported by the five steel columns at the corners of the building, with the triangular frameworks transferring the weight of the structure onto these five columns.

A small observation deck on the 43rd floor of the building is open to the public; visits to the main observation deck on the 70th floor are by appointment only.