Bank of China Building (Hong Kong)

Bank of China Building viewed from Cheung Kong Center.

Bank hall interior in 1950s architectural style

Des Voeux Road Central entrance.

Bank of China Building (Chinese: 中國銀行大廈) is located at no.2A Des Voeux Road Central, Central, Hong Kong. It is a sub-branch of Bank of China (Hong Kong).

History

The site was originally occupied by the eastern part of the old City Hall, which had been built in 1869. The western part of the City Hall was demolished in 1933 to make way for the 3rd generation of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building, while the eastern part was demolished in 1947 to make way for the Bank of China Building.^[1]

It was designed by Palmer & Turner and built by Wimpey Construction in 1952^[2] with a goal to surpass the 3rd generation Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building nearby to become the tallest building in Hong Kong at the time.^[3]

The Bank of China Building was originally the headquarters of Bank of China in Hong Kong. When the headquarters moved into the new Bank of China Tower in 1991, this building was used by Sin Hua Bank as its headquarters. After the restructuring of China's banks to form Bank of China (Hong Kong) in 2001, the building was returned to the Bank of China again and is used as a sub-branch.

Features

The China Club, a retro-chic, Shanghai-style club and restaurant, opened on 8 September 1991 on the top three floors (13th/14th/15th) of the building.

References

1. EIA: A survey report of Historical Buildings and Structures within the Project Area of the Central Reclamation Phase III, Chan Sui San Peter for the HK Government, February 2001
2. White, p. 30
3. Old Bank of China Building

Sources

• White, Valerie (1980). Wimpey: The first hundred years. George Wimpey.

Coordinates: 22°16′49″N 114°09′36″E / 22.2802585°N 114.1600567°E