Hong Kong
Bank of China Tower
.jpg?width=1200)
Welcome to Hong Kong! The Bank of China Tower is a sharp, sparkling skyscraper made of triangles stacked on top of each other like segments of bamboo.
Why is it famous?
Architect I. M. Pei designed it to look like bamboo shoots reaching for the sky — a symbol of strength and growth in Chinese culture.
When it was finished in 1990, it was the tallest building outside the United States.
How does it stand up?
The whole tower is made of four triangular glass towers of different heights growing out of one base.
The triangle shapes send all the building's weight down to just four corners, which makes it super strong against Hong Kong's powerful typhoon winds.
Amazing facts
It stands 367 meters (1,205 feet) tall, including its two tall antenna spikes on top.
From certain angles, its sharp profile looks like a knife, so locals nicknamed it "the meat cleaver."
Quick facts
- It stands 367 meters (1,205 feet) tall, including its two tall antenna spikes on top.
- From certain angles, its sharp profile looks like a knife, so locals nicknamed it "the meat cleaver."
- It has appeared in blockbuster movies like Transformers: Age of Extinction and Godzilla vs. Kong.
- I. M. Pei's father actually worked at a bank in Hong Kong decades before his son designed this tower.