Top, middle and top: photos of apartment buildings in Hong Kong taken between April 30 and May 15
HONG KONG (AFP-Jiji) — Home to some of the world’s densest residential areas and tallest skyscrapers, Hong Kong has captivated locals and visitors with its famous skyline for decades.
The Chinese financial center has more than 550 buildings that are at least 150 meters tall and is the “world’s tallest city,” according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat skyscraper database.
Hong Kong experienced a building boom in the second half of the 20th century as its population skyrocketed, and development continued to keep pace after the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997.
The city’s two tallest buildings, the International Commerce Center (484 metres) and the Two International Financial Center (412 metres), gleam on either side of Victoria Harbour, casting shadows on the rushing traffic below.
Meanwhile, many of the city’s 7.5 million residents live in cramped flats, with households having an average floor area per capita of around 16 square meters in 2021.
A cluster of residential blocks nicknamed the ‘Monster Building’ in Quarry Bay gained international fame after being featured in the 2014 blockbuster ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’.
Older public housing complexes, such as Ping Shek Estate and Lai Tak Tsuen, have beautiful central courtyards whose dramatic visual signature has made them popular with photographers.
Limited by natural geography and restrictive land policies, Hong Kong’s urban development can only go up in the coming decades, scientists say.
