Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Building, is the headquarters building of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison, located on Lung Wui Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It houses the Central Barracks of the Hong Kong Garrison.
It is a 113-metre tall, 28-floor building located within the former naval base.
History
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. In May 2000, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed the Military Installations Closed Areas 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. 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. 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 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 in 2001, the cross was removed. This was despite initial claims the cross would be retained.