Revealed: Hongkongers' top 10 favourite architectural structures in the city
Many of the winners chosen in poll of 15,000 Hongkongers are - or were - communal features
The people have voted and, remarkably, among their list of 10 favourite built environments in Hong Kong are several sites that have long been demolished.
Announcing the results of its poll “My 10 most liked Hong Kong architecture of the century” on Friday, the organiser said it had been a close finish. The sites that received the most votes were – in no specific order – the Kowloon Walled City, the Peak Tram, the Star Ferry Piers & Five Flagpoles; the Kowloon-Canton Railway Terminus & Clock Tower, Lui Seng Chun, Tai O stilt houses, Chi Lin Nunnery, Hong Kong International Airport, the Hong Kong University Main Building and Ocean Park.
The non-profit Hong Kong Architecture Centre organised the vote on 100 sites, shortlisted by its panel of experts and cultural leaders, as a way to involve the public and promote appreciation of the city’s buildings.
“Architecture provides a legacy to allow future generations to understand historical, social, economical and cultural references of the city,” says architect Corrin Chan Chui-yi, chairwoman of the campaign. “It reflects how people live and also the trends of what people need or want.”
The centre was delighted by the response to its campaign.
It initially expected to get about 4,000 votes, which would have been a pretty good result, Chan said. “But in the end we achieved received 15,000 votes from the public, which is impressive.”
“The final 10 that the public have chosen are really different from our predictions,” she added, noting four out of 10 are transport-related – the airport, the tramway, the railway station, and the Star Ferry pier.
