Old traditions die hard
Causeway Bay's only "real" tourist sight is an old naval gun that has been around since the 1860s: First in East Point (which has since disappeared due to land reclamations) and later on here, on Causeway Bay's waterfront, and is linked to a story from the city's early past...
The gun was originally placed by Jardine Matheson, an international trading giant that used to own godowns around East Point, and was fired as a salute to welcome the tai pans, every time they arrived by sea.
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The British authorities, however, believed that such an honour should be reserved only for senior officers of her majesty, and decided to teach "Jardine" a lesson by ordering them to fire the gun at 12 midday indefinitely, as a time signal.
Over the years, the gun-firing ceremony has become one of the city's most recognized traditions, and even made an international name for itself when it was mentioned in Noel Coward's 1930s hit Mad Dogs and Englishmen...
Ironically enough, even when Hong Kong returned to China, in 1997, Jardine was asked to continue performing the daily ceremony, although it symbolizes colonialism at its worst...
To get to the gun: Take the under-road tunnel from the Excelsior's basement car park.
Alternatively, you can cross Gloucester Road with the pedestrian's bridge (on the corner of Percival and Gloucester) and descend to the right, or cross the pedestrian bridge above Victoria Park Road (at the end of Victoria Park) and descend to the left.
As already mentioned, the small ceremony is held at 12 noon sharp, so if you can't make it on time, just give it a miss...
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Other places of interest around the Noonday Gun:
The Noonday Gun is part of our suggested tour: Causeway Bay, Happy Valley and Shau Kei Wan
