City Gallery (Hong Kong)

Hong Kong City Hall (Chinese: 香港大會堂) is a building located at Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is a "Special Administrative Region" and not a normal Chinese city, there is no mayor or city council; therefore, the City Hall does not hold the offices of a city government, unlike most city halls around the world. Instead, it is a complex providing municipal services, including performing venues and libraries. The City Hall is managed by the Government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The Urban Council (UrbCo) managed the City Hall (through the Urban Services Department) and held its meetings there prior to its dissolution in December 1999. Prior to its dissolution the UrbCo served as the municipal council for Hong Kong Island and Kowloon (including New Kowloon). The UrbCo had its meeting chamber in the Low Block of the City Hall.

Queen's Pier, named after Queen Victoria, was a public pier in front of City Hall in Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong. For three generations it served not only as a public pier in day-to-day use but also as a major ceremonial arrival and departure point. The pier witnessed the official arrival in Hong Kong of all of Hong Kong's governors since 1925; Elizabeth II landed there in 1975, as did the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1989. The second and final pier structure, built along the newly reclaimed waterfront, was designed in a modern utilitarian style and was opened by Maurine Grantham, wife of Governor Alexander Grantham, in June 1954. On 26 April 2007, the pier was closed by the Government to enable land reclamation, soon after the adjacent Star Ferry pier was closed. There was fierce opposition by conservationists, who carried over their campaign to preserve the landmark. Police officers evicted some 30 protesters from the site on 1 August 2007; activists filed for a judicial review, and the High Court hearing began on 7 August. On 10 August, the court dismissed the request. Finally, the Queen's Pier was completely demolished in February 2008. Its base piles were also removed in March 2008. In 2008, the government's attempts, post dismantling, to create the appearance of public support for reassembling the pier at the new waterfront were criticised by conservationists.

The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the British Crown colony of Hong Kong, without declaring war against the British Empire. The Hong Kong garrison consisted of British, Indian and Canadian units, also the Auxiliary Defence Units and Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC). Within a week the defenders abandoned the mainland and less than two weeks later, with their position on the island untenable, the colony surrendered.

The Furama Hotel (Chinese: 富麗華酒店) was a 33-storey hotel in Central, Hong Kong, located at 1 Connaught Road Central. The site is now occupied by the AIA Central office building.

Edinburgh Place is a public square in Central, Hong Kong, adjacent to the Victoria Harbour. The Hong Kong City Hall is located in the square. In addition, the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier and Queen's Pier were also located in the square before they were demolished in early 2007.

The AIA Central (Chinese: 友邦金融中心), formerly called AIG Tower (美國國際集團大廈), in Hong Kong is a 185-metre (607 ft.), 37-storey skyscraper that was completed in 2005 and serves as the headquarters of AIA Group. It is located in Central, not far from the landmark Bank of China Tower. The Furama Kempinski Hotel, famous for its revolving restaurant, formerly stood on the same lot that the former AIG Tower rises from, but in December 2001, the 33-storey hotel was demolished to make way for the AIG Tower. The tower was renamed to AIA Central on 9 July 2009. The building was jointly developed by Lai Sun Development, CapitaLand, and American International Group (AIG). The architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the building to look like the Chinese junk, a Chinese sailboat design dating from ancient times and still in use today. Leslie E. Robertson Associates are the structural engineers for this project. As well they included a pedestrian bridge linking the tower to the Hong Kong elevated walkway network. The building has approximately 41,777 m² (450,000 ft²) of office accommodation.

The Hong Kong Club Building (Chinese: 香港會所大廈) is a 25-story office building located in between Chater Road and Connaught Road Central at the junction of Jackson Road, in Central, Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Club Building is currently in its third generation, in its second location. It is owned by the Hong Kong Club, which occupies 8 levels, while the other floors are leased for office use.The Hong Kong Club Building, in its second incarnation, was one of the last examples of renaissance architecture remaining in Hong Kong. The building was completed in 1897, and demolished in June 1981. It was replaced by the current modern building.

The Bank of America Tower is a 38-floor 146 m (479 ft) skyscraper located in the 13-15 Harcourt Road Admiralty area of Hong Kong Island. The first floor is rented for retail and catering businesses. The third and fourth floors are for car parking, while offices start from the fifth floor up. Each floor provides 13,880 square feet for rent, with the smallest unit starting from 800 square feet. The Bank of America Tower participates in A Symphony of Lights.

The Cenotaph is a war memorial constructed in 1923 and located between Statue Square and the City Hall in Central, Hong Kong, that commemorates the dead in the two world wars who served in Hong Kong in the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Built in stone, it is an almost exact replica of the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, UK (designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1920). It is listed as a monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

Connaught Road is a major thoroughfare on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It links Shing Sai Road in Kennedy Town to the west and Harcourt Road in Admiralty to the east.

Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, often referred to as the "Star Ferry" Pier, was a pier in Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong, serving the Star Ferry. The pier, with its clock tower, was a prominent waterfront landmark. Built in 1957 at the height of the Modern Movement, it was the third generation of the Star Ferry Pier in Central, and was located near the City Hall and the General Post Office.The pier was the central flashpoint of the Hong Kong riots in 1966, and 40 years later became the focus of a confrontation between conservationists and the government, which wanted to demolish the pier to allow for reclamation. The ferry service from the pier was suspended on 11 November 2006, and moved to piers 7 and 8 of Central Piers. Demolition commenced on 12 December, and was completed in early 2007.

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest judicial institution under Hong Kong law. As defined in Articles 19 and 85 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal "exercises judicial power in the Region independently and free from any interference." The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Rules set out the detailed functions and procedures of the court. The court meets in the Court of Final Appeal Building located in Central, Hong Kong.