Photo of the day No.41 - The Peak Tower Hong Kong
Not many people in Hong Kong remember this building
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years - I know the place.
I have personally completed 2,300+ Private Tours and Experiences (over 6,000+ guests) since April 2011 and I am considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
A blog post with a difference
Please do visit Hong Kong in 2025 | Travel, Tourism, Tours, Tips, Daily Life and my personal thoughts on Hong Kong.
Hong Kong | Pearl of the Orient
Customised Private Tours & Experiences in Amazing Hong Kong
Pearl of the Orient
Private Tours Cultural Tours Walking Tours Sightseeing Tours City Tours Night Tours Transit Tours Shore Excursions
Carefully Crafted Personalised and Customised Itineraries by Jamie | Hong Kong’s Most Experienced Private Tour Guide For :
Solo Travellers Friends Families Seniors Couples Business People
J3 Group Hong Kong | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong
Creating Memories That Will Last A Lifetime
Book Now
Photo of the day No.41 - The Peak Tower Hong Kong
Not many people in Hong Kong remember this building
The good old days at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, the Peak Tower in the early 1980’s
click on the image to enlarge
I get misty eyed and nostalgic when I see this image
“It stood until 1970, when it was knocked down to build the first Peak Tower. Chung Wah-nan’s design included a new terminus for the tram. Two large columns were built on top of it, on which perched an oblong two-storey structure capped by an outdoor observation deck. “The tower’s height resulting from this floating form made it effectively stand out as the city’s new tourist landmark, visible from other parts of Hong Kong, especially when the site is in a dip along the line of the hills,” says Shirley Surya, design and architecture curator at M+, which has collected photographs of the original Peak Tower, as well as plans and drawings of the second generation.
Although Chung’s design was decidedly modern in style, he cited ancient Chinese guard towers as the inspiration for its form. “[That] gave it much stronger symbolic value that exuded confidence in Hong Kong’s future,” says Surya. “This was very much needed considering that the tower was conceived just two years after the 1967 riots.”
This excerpt is from an excellent and I mean excellent article from Zolima Magazine who pretty much nail every topic they write about in Hong Kong and this article about the history of the Peak Tower in Hong Kong is very detailed and is a must read.
The building above is technically the 2nd Peak Tower, there was an earlier structure (please read the article) and the original Peak Tower can be seen in the image below, the small round structure (the building to the left is the Peak Tram Office Building and is still there in 2025) this small structure was demolished by 1970.
Even though the Peak Tower from 1972 - 1993 was a fairly ugly building, it could still be seen from Kowloon and it soon acquired an iconic status, I visited it so many times through out it’s lifespan, crowds in 1970’s and 1980’s where not like today and it was such a lovely place to relax and admire the ever changing views.
In a nutshell the Peak Tower and Lugard Road where my spiritual homes.
The car park in the image, well people laugh when I mention that, the car park was replaced by a very large shopping mall (which to be fair serves an important purpose) and 7 days a week there are thousands of people milling around in that space from 10am - 10pm!
Opposite the Peak Tower is another old colonial structure, the Peak Lookout Restaurant, still going strong and still my favourite restaurant in Hong Kong, that has not changed much since I was a kid (when it was called the Peak Cafe)
The really good old days at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, the Peak Tower prior to 1970
click on the image to enlarge
I never got to see the original structure in person as we arrived on January 2nd 1972 and the building had already been demolished and replaced, looking at it, at best it could probably fit 50 people at any one time and was totally inadequate but it was a building for the times, mass tourism had not started yet and I am guessing the image was taken on a weekend and not a slow Tuesday (!) in those days Hong Kong residents loved to walk around the Peak on the Peak Circular walk, a tradition that continues to this day but these days it is mainly tourists who pack the area.
The not so good old days at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, the Peak Tower in 2025
click on the image to enlarge
I have written many posts about the Peak Tower shown in the image above so I will be brief, it is not my favourite building in Hong Kong, in fact I am not a fan at all, I do like the design which is based on something that aligns with the heritage of the owners of the Peak Tower | Peak Tram and that is about it.
I totally and completely understand the purpose of the building, it is a rather unique and iconic building and the PeakTower and the Peak Tram essentially have no competition and anywhere from 7 - 10 million people or more visit the Peak every year so it is a money making machine, I cannot fault the owners for cashing in, that is business.
The worst aspect of the 2025 Peak Tower is the so called Peak Tower 428 Sky Terrace, in other words the viewing platform, they charge roughly US$10 for an adult for the view, there are 2 other locations just a minute away where you get the same view for free and one place which I favour where you get a much, much better view which is also free.
I am always amused that on the Peak Tower website they describe the 428 Sky Terrace the highest viewing terrace in town, no mention of it being the best view because it is not even close! so it is at an elevation of 428m, well my view on Lugard Road is 425m and twice the view, a 180o degree panoramic city view.
It is a shame that most people go to the top of the Peak Tower for the view and I have not mentioned the many retail outlets which do one job and one job only and that is to empty your wallet and word has it that they are thinking of a total revamp of the whole shopping experience in the Peak Tower.
Unfortunately the Peak Tower and the Peak Tram are a victim of their own success, for a decade or more the crowds going there have increased dramatically and there is no good day to go, it is jammed 7 days a week and weekend crowds make for a miserable experience.
Fortunately my spot at the Peak for the amazing views tends NOT to be crowded at all.
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong |
| 2010 - 2025 All rights reserved. |
Click on any image to enlarge to full screen
Current images from my Instagram feed
