Hong Kong has over 9,000 high-rise buildings, of which over 4,000 are skyscrapers standing taller than 100 m with 554 buildings above 150 m, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The tallest building in Hong Kong is the 108-storey International Commerce Centre, which stands 484 m and is the 13th tallest building in the world. The total built-up height (combined heights) of these skyscrapers is approximately 333.8 km, making Hong Kong the world's tallest urban agglomeration. Furthermore, reflective of the city's high population densities, Hong Kong has more inhabitants living at the 15th floor or higher, and more buildings of at least 100 m and 150 m height, than any other city in the world. Most of Hong Kong's buildings are concentrated on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the new towns (satellite towns) of the New Territories, such as Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin. Additional high-rises are located along Hong Kong Island's southern shoreline and areas near the stations of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). The skyline of Hong Kong Island is famed for its unique arrangement, with surrounding mountains and Victoria Harbour complementing the rows of skyscrapers along the shore. Each evening, 44 buildings on the shores of Victoria Harbour participate in A Symphony of Lights, a synchronised show named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest permanent light fixture in the world.

History

The first high-rise in Hong Kong was the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, completed in 1935. The building stood 70 m tall with 13 floors and was in use for five decades before being demolished for the construction of the HSBC Main Building. High-rise construction was limited in the early part of the 20th century. However, beginning in the 1970s, Hong Kong experienced a general trend of high-rise building construction that has continued to the present. This trend is in large part a result of the city's rugged, mountainous terrain and lack of flat land. The city entered a construction boom in 1980, which lasted roughly until 1993. Among the buildings built during these years are Hopewell Centre (1980), Bank of China Tower (1990), and Central Plaza (1992), three of the territory's tallest buildings upon their respective dates of completion. Beginning in 1998, Hong Kong entered a second, much larger building boom that lasted until the early 2010s. The second boom saw the completion of the International Commerce Centre, Two International Finance Centre, Nina Tower I, and One Island East. At the height of the construction boom in 2003, 56 skyscrapers over 150 m (492 ft) were completed throughout the city. The proliferation of multi-tower, high-rise building complexes, such as public housing estates and transit-oriented developments near MTR stations (known as rail + property development), greatly increased the number of skyscrapers. Unlike previous building trends of the 1980s and early 1990s, many high-rise buildings of the second boom are for residential use due to a surge in demand for luxury housing properties in Hong Kong. In addition, the closure of the Kai Tak Airport and the relaxation of height restrictions on the Kowloon Peninsula allowed many tall skyscrapers to rise in Kowloon, such as The Masterpiece, Victoria Dockside and The Cullinan, all of which exceed 200 m. Skyscrapers also grew in the New Territories, such as the developments of Metro Town and LOHAS Park in Tseung Kwan O. However, proposals for large scale building projects slowed down considerably over the 2000s due to a heightened community awareness of the effects of skyscrapers on urban ecology, such as changes to air circulation (dubbed the "wall effect") and air pollution.

Notable buildings

Tallest buildings

This lists ranks Hong Kong skyscrapers that stand at least 180 m tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

Tallest under construction or proposed

This list ranks under construction, topped-out and planned buildings that are expected to stand at least 180 m tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building is expected to be complete. A floor count of 50 storeys is used as the cutoff in place of a height of 180 m for buildings whose heights have not yet been released by their developers.

• Table entry without text indicate that one or more of the following information regarding building heights, floor counts and/or year of completion has not yet been released.

Demolished buildings

This table lists buildings in Hong Kong that were demolished which once stood at least 40 m tall.

Notable cancelled or vision projects

This lists notable projects that were abandoned, cancelled or never meant to be built that had a planned height of at least 400 m.

• Table entries without text indicate that information regarding floor counts have not been determined or remain unknown.

Timeline of tallest buildings

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Hong Kong.