December 9, 2011

Iron Fences

Hong Kong, 2011

Little did I know two months ago when I snapped this scene near the former Marine Police Headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui that I'd be posting it for the meme Friday Fences

The old building you see is called Star House. In the '80s we had our trade consultancy office on the sixth floor. It has a fabulous view of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island.

In the photo below taken from another angle you can see the distinctive Bank of China building across the water in Central District on Hong Kong Island. It was designed by the famous IM Pei. Since construction started in 1985, the same year I landed in Hong Kong, I was able to see it rise up until it was opened in 1990. For only three years it was the tallest building in the city (315 m or 1,033 ft).

On the right you can see the old Ball Tower, which was formerly used to provide time signals to the boats in the harbor. Today its view from the water is blocked by the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.


15 comments:

Unknown said...

Fantastic shots, I love how uniform it all looks.

Lesley said...

This creates a certain formality that is what i would expect in Hong Kong (though I've never been there, so I could be wrong)

Andy said...

Having fun with Friday fences, eh. Iron fences have lot of detail to them.

Donna said...

That's a lot of fences! Nice shots.

Jan n Jer said...

Great shots...love the perspective!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

It's fun the way these memes come along and give us a place to put pictures that were taken 'just because'...that's a beautiful fence and interesting bit of history.

gtyyup said...

Two thumbs up for the word verification free, pop up comment option ;~)

No offense, but the fences remind me of a rat maze from the angle! They really are beautiful though...thanks for the history lesson too~

cieldequimper said...

Wow, that's a LOT of fences, almost like barricades!

TexWisGirl said...

love that! all the layers of fence in one shot!

Faye said...

From your photo angle, this fence is almost like a maze. Like that you include some details about the surrounding architecture and your life in Hong Kong. Saw on your profile that your worked with non-profits. I did as well for the last 15 years before retiring. Very rewarding--and frustrating at times. :-)

Liz said...

Great images & perspective :)

Kaori said...

I love how you captured the layers and layers of fences in your first photo! Just beautiful! Is looks like a maze! ;D

Lowell said...

Hong Kong has always struck me as being unusually exotic...and rapidly changing, from what you say. I would like to spend some evenings there taking pictures.

Pat Tillett said...

I love the maze look to the first shot. So many angles and lines.

jennyfreckles said...

So many enterprising memes. I must have a few fences somewhere... These make you wonder why they need so many balustrades.