At present (August, 2008), Hong Kong has the world's greatest number of skyscrapers, with a total of 7,558, ahead of the second placed city, New York City, which has 5,535. Most of these were built in the past two decades.
Due to the lack of available space, few historical buildings remain in Hong Kong as older buildings are regularly torn down to make way for new developments. Instead, the city has become a centre for modern architecture, especially in and around Central. Dense commercial skyscrapers line the coast of Victoria Harbour from Central to Causeway Bay, and Hong Kong's skyline, ranked the best skyline in the world, is a major tourist attraction.
Four of the 18 tallest skyscrapers in the world are in Hong Kong. In Kowloon, which once included the nihilistic settlement called the Kowloon Walled City, the proximity of Kai Tak Airport previously necessitated strict height limits for all buildings. With the closure of Kai Tak Airport in 1998, these restrictions were lifted and several new skyscrapers in Kowloon are now under construction, including International Commerce Centre which, when completed in 2010, will become the world's fourth tallest.
One of the notable buildings in Hong Kong is I. M. Pei's Bank of China Tower, completed in 1990 and now the city's third tallest skyscraper. This building generated heated controversy from the start, as its sharp angles were said to cast negative feng shui energy into the heart of Hong Kong.
Predating the Bank of China Tower, another well-known structure is the HSBC Headquarters Building, finished in 1985. It was built on the site of Hong Kong's first skyscraper, which was finished in 1935 and was the subject of a bitter heritage conservation struggle in the late 1970s. Both banks' buildings are featured on many of Hong Kong's banknotes.
The tallest building in Hong Kong is currently the Two International Finance Centre. Other well-known projects in Hong Kong include the new Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok near Lantau, a huge land reclamation project linked to the centre of Hong Kong by the Lantau Link, which features three new major bridges: Tsing Ma, the world's sixth largest suspension bridge; Kap Shui Mun, the world's longest cable-stayed bridge carrying both road and railway traffic; and Ting Kau, the world's first major four-span cable-stayed bridge.
As Hong Kong is densely populated, the need for housing has contributed to the large number of skyscrapers in the area. Of the 100 tallest residential buildings in the world, 38 are in Hong Kong. By one measure, the city has more people living or working above the 14th floor than any other on earth, making it the most vertical in the world.
