The Architecture of Hong Kong – Early Days

Hong Kong is truly a place where the east meets the west, and is also well known for its impressive skyline and super tall skyscrapers. Most of the Hong Kong’s architecture is new, featuring Modern and Post-Modern kind of design. Much of the terrain of the Hong Kong is hilly and mountainous, and with 7 million people occupying around 426 square miles, there is a strong demand to build up new buildings. Many of the older buildings of the Hong Kong have been demolished in favor of some super tall skyscrapers to provide both housing and also commercial office space for the thriving financial and banking center of Hong Kong.

Prior to 1841, when Great Britain first colonized Hong Kong, most of the architectures were of traditional Chinese design. Hong Kong’s population was made up mostly of fishers who had to cope with the vagaries of pirates and typhoons. Hong Kong’s architecture was characterized by its’ many Tin Hau temples and fortified villages.

After Great Britain founded the Victoria City as a part of their crown colony, the population greatly increased in a short period of time. Tong Laus, or called as Chinese tenements, were constructed to meet the greater demand of housing. These three to four story buildings combined both European and Chinese traditional architectural elements and design and were built close together in the crowded city blocks. Most of the buildings had apartments on the upper stores and shops on the ground floors. The Ton Lau was one of the major forms of architecture in Hong Kong up until World War II.