Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building | |
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中國人民解放軍駐香港部隊大廈 | |
General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | Military |
Location | Hong Kong |
Coordinates | 22°16′54″N114°9′51″E / 22.28167°N 114.16417°E |
Completed | 1979 |
Height | |
Roof | 113 m (371 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 28 |
References | |
[1] |
Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building | |||||||||||||
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Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building | |||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 中國人民解放軍駐香港部隊大廈 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 中国人民解放军驻香港部队大厦 | ||||||||||||
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Prince of Wales Building | |||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 威爾斯親王大廈 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 威尔斯亲王大厦 | ||||||||||||
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The Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building [2] is the headquarters building of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison,located on Lung Wui Road,Admiralty,Hong Kong. It houses the Central Barracks.
It is a 113-metre (371 ft) tall,28-floor building located within the former HMS Tamar naval base. The former name of the building was the Prince of Wales Building (威爾斯親王大廈). [3]
Constructed in 1979,the building was named the Prince of Wales Building. It housed the head office of the Royal Navy stationed in Hong Kong until the territory's handover to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997 when it was made the head office of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison. [1] [4] In May 2000,the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed the Military Installations Closed Areas (Amendment) Order 2000,which renamed the former Prince of Wales Barracks to Central Barracks,and the Prince of Wales Building to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building. After the base became the Central Barracks,the old name of the building remained visible in large raised letters along the bottom of the tower for several years. [5] The building underwent a 20-month full renovation,completed in 2014,during which most of the troops were transferred to the Stonecutters Island base.
Due to its distinctive shape,likened to a wineglass,the building stands out from the rest of the Admiralty waterfront buildings. Architects attribute the shape of the building to passive protection,its narrow stem with the protruding upper storeys,supposedly makes it difficult to climb or attack. [4] It is also informally known as 'the upside-down Gin bottle' due to its shape resembling a bottle of Gordon's Gin. The corner of the building at the podium level which faces east (towards Admiralty MTR station) used to be a chapel under British use of the barracks. There used to be a crucifix visible on the exterior—however,during external refurbishment (including replacing the 'Prince of Wales Building' inscription in English with its current name in Chinese) in 2001,the cross was removed. This was despite initial claims the cross would be retained. [6]
The PLA maintains a number of garrisons in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In addition to the PLA Forces Hong Kong Building, there are notable garrisons at the Stonecutters Island, and at Stanley Fort. Soldiers located at these three garrisons are considered to be the élite of the PLA. The soldiers are not permitted to leave their compounds, even during off-duty times to mingle with the local populace. [7] As a restricted area, the PLA Forces Hong Kong Building is heavily guarded by soldiers with automatic rifles. [4]
The People's Liberation Army Macao Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defense duties in the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the sovereignty of Macau was transferred to China in 1999.
Central, also known as Central District, is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in the northeastern corner of the Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula. The area was the heart of Victoria City, although that name is rarely used today.
Stonecutters Island or Ngong Shuen Chau is a former island in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Following land reclamation, it is now attached to the Kowloon Peninsula.
Admiralty is the eastern extension of the central business district on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It is located on the eastern end of the Central and Western District, bordered by Wan Chai to the east and Victoria Harbour to the north.
British Forces Overseas Hong Kong comprised the elements of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force stationed in British Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong also assumed the position of the commander-in-chief of the forces and the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong took charge of the daily deployment of the troops. Much of the British military left prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The present article focuses mainly on the British garrison in Hong Kong in the post Second World War era. For more information concerning the British garrison during the Second World War and earlier, see the Battle of Hong Kong.
The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
The Hong Kong Military Service Corps (HKMSC) was a British army unit and part of the British garrison in Hong Kong. Throughout the history of Hong Kong, it has been the only regular British army unit raised in the territory made up almost entirely of Locally Enlisted Personnel (LEP).
HMS Tamar was the name for the British Royal Navy's base in Hong Kong from 1897 to 1997. It took its name from HMS Tamar, a ship that was used as the base until replaced by buildings ashore.
Queensway is a major road in the Admiralty area of Central, Hong Kong. It was originally a section of Queen's Road East and forms part of the continuum of Queen's Road that had been split into Queen's Road West, Queen's Road Central, Queensway, and Queen's Road East after World War II. At its western end it splits into Queen's Road Central and Des Voeux Road Central while at its eastern end it merges into Hennessy Road, at the junction with Queen's Road East.
The Victoria Barracks were a barracks in the Admiralty area of Central on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The barracks were constructed between the 1840s and 1874, and situated within the area bounded by Cotton Tree Drive, Kennedy Road and Queensway. Together with Murray Barracks, Wellington Barracks and Admiralty Dock, the barracks formed a British military zone in Central. The barracks was named for Queen Victoria, monarch at the time of construction.
Gun Club Hill Barracks are barracks in King's Park, or in Jordan, Hong Kong formerly used by British Army garrisons during British colonial rule. The military began using the area shortly after 1860 when the British acquired Kowloon. The barracks are bounded by Austin Road, Jordan Path, Gascoigne Road and Chatham Road South.
Government Dockyard is a dockyard of Hong Kong Government responsible for the design, procurement and maintenance of all vessels owned by the Government.
Murray Barracks was a barracks for the British Army garrisoned in Admiralty, Central in Hong Kong. It was named after Sir George Murray, the Master-General of the Ordnance at the time of construction.
The Military history of Hong Kong dates back to the Qin conquest. As Hong Kong is on the sea routes to the city of Guangzhou, the territories of Hong Kong served as an outer port. Amounts of pearl and salt are also located within the shores of Hong Kong as well. Thus, there is a long history of military and navy garrisoning the territory.
The Central and Western District located on northwestern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 243,266 in 2016. The district has the most educated residents with the second highest income and the third lowest population due to its relatively small size.
Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base is part of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison and small naval base on Stonecutters Island, Hong Kong. It is home to the South Sea Fleet Squadron #38081 and is a sub-base of the naval squadron of the South Sea Fleet. The area surrounding the base is off limits to civilian ship traffic.
Liu Zhenwu is a retired general (shangjiang) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). He was the first Commander of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison, and later served as Deputy Commander and Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, and Deputy Chief of the PLA General Staff Department.
This is a list of military parades held in the Hong Kong since 1945.
The PLA Hong Kong Garrison Honour Guard Battalion is the ceremonial unit for the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It consists of 210 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Air Force and Navy who are based at Stonecutters Island. It provided public duties for all events of a ceremonial nature on behalf of the PLA during events of regional importance in the HKSAR. It was formed in 1994 as a result of the impending transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong. At the time of its founding, it was composed of some members of the PLA Honour Guard in Beijing. It began to recruit female soldiers in February 2016. Unlike the unit in the capital, the Hong Kong unit is not a purely ceremonial unit as it is also capable of becoming active duty infantry when needed. A requirement for membership in the unit is being at least 182 cm. It is attached directly to the PLAHK Garrison through the Infantry Garrison Brigade.