Antravia Trivia posts

The Billion-Dollar Feng Shui War Between HSBC and Bank of China in Hong Kong

If you stand in Statue Square at noon on any weekday, look up, and you’ll witness one of the most expensive games of architectural one-upmanship in history — played entirely with feng shui.

On one side: the iconic HSBC Main Building (1985), designed by Norman Foster with its exposed steel exoskeleton and escalators that dramatically bypass the ground floor. On the other: the sharp, blade-like Bank of China Tower (1990), designed by I.M. Pei, rising like a jagged crystal dagger.

To the average tourist it’s just two cool skyscrapers. To every Hong Kong taxi driver, tycoon, and serious businessman, it’s a 35-year feng shui battlefield that has cost hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars in “cures” and still isn’t fully settled in 2026.

Act 1 – The “Knife Blades” Attack (1990)

When the Bank of China Tower opened, its triangular edges and X-shaped supports immediately looked like giant cleavers pointed directly at the HSBC building across the street. In classical feng shui this is sha qi (殺氣) — literally “killing energy” — and the sharpest blades appeared to slice straight into the Governor’s former office (now the Court of Final Appeal) and HSBC’s headquarters.

HSBC’s mostly Cantonese staff panicked. Share price rumours swirled. Senior management quietly called in feng shui masters.

Act 2 – HSBC’s Counter-Attack (the famous “cannons”)

Foster’s original design was purely structural, but in the early 1990s two very un-British additions appeared on the roof of HSBC:

• Two maintenance crane-like structures were quietly repositioned and repainted gun-metal grey.

• They were angled to point directly back at the Bank of China Tower.

Hong Kong instantly nicknamed them “the cannons” (大炮). Feng shui explanation: cannons = fire element + military symbolism = the only acceptable way to return sha qi to sender. HSBC has never officially admitted they are cannons, calling them “maintenance units”, but every master in town knows the truth.

Act 3 – Bank of China Strikes Back (water feature offensive)

BOC wasn’t finished. In the mid-1990s they installed a large rooftop water feature that cascades down the northern side of the tower — symbolically “drowning” the cannons’ fire energy with water. HSBC responded by that point had already added more defences:

• The famous pair of bronze lions (“Stephen” and “Stitt”) at ground level were rubbed so often by staff for luck that their noses and paws are polished gold.

• Two smaller “cannon-like” structures appeared on lower rooftops.

• The entire building is raised on stilts and the escalators bypassing the ground floor are classic feng shui — evil spirits supposedly only travel in straight lines and cannot climb escalators.

Act 4 – China Bank Gets a Haircut (2000s)

By the early 2000s, complaints reached Beijing. The triangular peaks were deemed too aggressive even by mainland standards. A subtle but extremely expensive fix was applied: decorative “ruyi” (如意) finials — traditional auspicious objects — were added to soften the sharp edges. Cost: rumoured HK$80–100 million.

Act 5 – HSBC Doubles Down (2010s renovation)

During the 2013–2017 renovation of HSBC’s headquarters, two more symbolic upgrades appeared:

• A massive glass “energy shield” (officially just cladding) on the side facing BOC.

• A rooftop garden with carefully placed trees and water features that masters say create a “protective mountain” behind the cannons.

2026 Status – Who Won?

Ask ten different masters, get ten different answers.

• HSBC camp says: “Our cannons still point at them, and our stock is fine.”

• BOC camp says: “We added ruyi and water — their fire is extinguished.”

• Neutral masters say: “Actually, the real winner is the old Standard Chartered Bank building next door — it’s lower, rounder, and has zero sha qi pointed at it.”

The moral for travel agents and tour operators? When you bring mainland VIP groups to Central, never skip the HSBC → Bank of China feng shui story. Charge an extra HK$100 per head for the “Billion-Dollar Energy War Walking Tour” — it’s the only battle in Hong Kong where both sides spent nine figures and nobody actually lost money (HSBC and BOC are still two of the most profitable banks in Asia).

Want the exact 12-minute route with photo spots, Cantonese/Mandarin/English scripts, and the hidden third building that secretly benefits the most from the fight? Drop your email below and I’ll send the tour operator kit (ready for 2026 Lunar New Year groups).

Because in Hong Kong, even the skyscrapers play by dragon rules.
The Secret Winner in the Middle: The Old Standard Chartered Bank Building (2004–present)

While everyone is busy staring at the HSBC “cannons” and the Bank of China “blades”, the real feng shui jackpot quietly sits in the dead centre of the battlefield: the Standard Chartered Bank Headquarters at 4–4A Des Voeux Road Central (the sleek black-glass tower completed in 1990 and renovated in 2004).

Locals call it “the building that drinks everyone else’s soup” (食兩家茶禮 – literally “eating wedding banquets from both families”).

Here’s why, according to every serious Hong Kong master in 2026, Standard Chartered is the biggest winner of the entire 35-year feng shui war:

1. Perfect Defensive Shape The building is almost perfectly rectangular with gently rounded corners – classic “gold ingot” (元寶) shape = attracts and stores wealth, never leaks it.

2. Zero Sharp Edges Pointed at It

   • HSBC’s cannons point diagonally across at BOC.

   • BOC’s worst blades point at HSBC and the old Government Hill. → Standard Chartered sits exactly in the “eye of the storm” and receives zero sha qi.

3. It Gets All the Reflected Good Energy The mirrored black glass façade acts like a giant convex ba gua mirror. Any leftover aggressive energy from the two giants throw at each other bounces straight onto StanChart’s surface and (according to masters) gets converted into wealth qi that flows inside.

4. Water + Mountain Support

   • Front: Directly faces Victoria Harbour (water = cash flow).

   • Back: Nestled against Government Hill (mountain = stable backing).

   • Left & right “dragon & tiger” embrace perfectly balanced.

5. The Hidden 2003–2004 “Upgrade” During the last major renovation, StanChart quietly did three things that no one talks about publicly:

   • Installed a massive indoor waterfall atrium on the ground level (water directly feeding the “gold ingot”).

   • Placed two giant feng shui crystal spheres in the lobby (invisible to most visitors but visible if you ask to see the “art installation”).

   • Changed the main entrance angle by 3 degrees to “scoop” the reflected energy from the HSBC–BOC fight.

Result? While HSBC and BOC spent hundreds of millions on cannons, water features and ruyi finials, Standard Chartered spent a fraction and simply positioned itself as the third party who benefits from the entire argument.

Ask any taxi uncle in Central: “HSBC 同中銀打風水, 邊個贏？” 99 % will grin and answer: “渣打啦！佢坐中間飲兩家湯！” (“StanChart lah! It sits in the middle and drinks soup from both houses!”)

Mini Tour Script You Can Sell in 2026 (3-minute stop)

“Everyone thinks this is a war between HSBC and Bank of China… but look at the black building in the middle. In feng shui we call this ‘the crane clam fight, the fisherman wins’. Two giants fight for 35 years, spend billions on cannons and knives, and the quiet one in the centre collects all the good energy. That’s why Standard Chartered never joins the drama — they’re too busy counting the money that bounces off the other two buildings!”

Your mainland VIPs will love it. The photo spot (looking up from the HSBC lion with both towers + StanChart in frame) is pure Instagram gold.

Want the exact GPS coordinates for the best group photo + a one-page printable “Feng Shui War Map” with Cantonese explanations for your guides? Say the word and I’ll send it over.