Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building, Military headquarters in Central and Western District, Hong Kong
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Building is a 113-meter tall skyscraper with 28 floors in the Central and Western District. Its brutalist design resembles an inverted bottle, with a narrow base and protruding upper floors constructed from reinforced concrete.
Built in 1979 as the Prince of Wales Building, it housed the Royal Navy's Hong Kong headquarters. On 30 June 1997 a British-Chinese defence handover ceremony was held here, and at midnight on 1 July the PLA took over the building. In 2000 the Legislative Council renamed it, effective 1 January 2002.
The building is a restricted military site, so there are no open days and the grounds cannot be entered. Its shape earned it the nickname "the upside-down Gin bottle", after a Gordon's Gin bottle. The east corner at podium level, facing Admiralty MTR station, was a chapel during British use, and a crucifix on the exterior was removed in 2001.
The tower stands on Lung Wui Road in Admiralty, within the Central Barracks, a closed military area under the Military Installations Closed Areas Order; there is no public entry, and past attempts to force the gate led to arrests under the Public Order Ordinance. The building is seen from outside, from the Admiralty waterfront and the surrounding public spaces, and its glass bands and roof antennas are visible from there.
The tower's wineglass profile, with a narrow stem and overhanging upper floors, was intended as passive defence, making the building hard to climb or attack. Locals also call it the upside-down gin bottle, after its resemblance to a Gordon's Gin bottle. The east corner at podium level once held a chapel, and a crucifix on the exterior was removed during the 2001 refurbishment.
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