You might wonder why the HSBC Building, inaugurated in 1986, is supported by eight pillars, requiring technical prowess and astronomical costs to build. As with so many of the buildings in Hong Kong, the answer is that it adheres to the strict principles of feng shui. One of these states that centres of power should always be accessible via a straight line (Government House at the time of its construction). As the tower was to be built on the access road from Star Ferry Pier, it had to leave the way clear... underneath its 52 floors. Astounding.