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The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, along with
AsiaWorld–Expo The AsiaWorld–Expo is one of the two major convention and exhibition facilities in Hong Kong along with Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was opened on 21 December 2005 by Donald Tsang, the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong, a ...
. It is located in
Wan Chai North Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area nort ...
, Hong Kong Island. Built along the
Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental in ...
, it is linked by covered walkways to nearby hotels and commercial buildings. The venue was designed by
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer John Merrill. The fi ...
, in association with Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd. Larry Oltmanns led the design as the Design Partner with SOM.


Construction

The original building was built on
reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
off Gloucester Road in 1988. The glass curtain was the world's largest at the time, overlooking the Victoria Harbour on three sides. The second phase of the centre, located on an
artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...
, was constructed from 1994 to 1997, and features a bird-like rooftop (also referred to as a turtle by some critics). The project took only 48 months from reclamation to completion. The main constructor of the extension was a joint venture named Hip Hing Construction Co Ltd Dragages et Travaux Publics. Originally, Phase Two was connected to Phase One with an atrium link (a sky bridge), and to Convention Road with two road bridges, but now the two phases are connected by an expanded exhibition hall. The complex's construction was financed by
New World Development New World Development Company Limited (NWD), is a Hong Kong-based company focused on property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The company is publicly listed on the ...
, with the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel,
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is a luxury Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong, and the Asian flagship of Hyatt International. It has been described in a ''New York Times'' travel article as a "world-famous prestige" property. It opened on 21 November 1989 and ...
and Harbour View Apartments on top of it. HKCEC made a second expansion during 2006–2009. Upon completion, the HK$1.4 billion expansion added 19,400 square metres to the HKCEC, bringing the total exhibition space to nearly 83,000 square metres and total rentable function space to over 92,000 square metres.


Management

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (HML), a wholly owned subsidiary of NWS Holdings Ltd (), is contracted by the
HKTDC The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 50 offices around the world, includin ...
for the day-to-day management and operation of the HKCEC. The 850 member staff's responsibilities include administration, marketing, booking, scheduling, event co-ordination, maintenance, security and food and beverage operations. The latter including banqueting, and managing the centre's restaurants. The managing director of the company is Monica Lee-Müller. There have been comments that the management of HKCEC provided preferential treatment to some client with regards to booking dates at the HKCEC. Cliff Wallace denied these allegations in a meeting with the Legislative Councilors in the 2003–2004 session. He said that his company did not provide preferential treatment, that dates were offered on a first-come-first-served basis and that standard industry practices were exercised with regards to booking and scheduling at the HKCEC as required by the operating agreement with
HKTDC The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 50 offices around the world, includin ...
.


Convention facilities statistics

*5 exhibition halls: 53,292 m2 *2 convention halls: 5,699 m2; total seating for 6,100 *2 theatres: 800 m2; total seating for 1,000 *52 meeting rooms: 6,004 m2 *Pre-function areas: 8,000 m2 *7 restaurants: total seating for 1,870 *Business centre: 150 m2 *Carpark spaces parking: for 1,300 cars and 60 vans *Total available rental space: 92,061 m2 *Capacity: 140,000 visitors per day


Functions held at the site

Numerous functions are held at the HKCEC each year, including exhibitions, conventions/meetings, banquets,
Hong Kong Book Fair The Hong Kong Book Fair () is a book fair organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, held annually (usually in the middle of July) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, selling and exhibiting books, printed matter, ...
and other special events. The centre hosts more than 45 international trade fairs for buyers from more than 100 countries each year, including the world's largest leather fair and watch and clock fair. The regular international fairs for giftware, toys, fashion, jewellery, electronics and optical products are Asia's largest. In addition, HKCEC hosts the annual film exp
CineAsia
where all major Hollywood studios present their upcoming productions to the Asian theatrical industry. The HKCEC also includes provisions for video-conferencing, teleconferencing, satellite links, simultaneous interpretation in up to eight languages, audio-visual equipment, foyer registration space, and event signage. It also served as the site of the 1997
Hong Kong handover ceremony The handover ceremony of Hong Kong in 1997 officially marked the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the People's Republic of China. It was an internationally televised event w ...
, which signified the end of
British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts est ...
. The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference took place at the HKCEC from 13–18 December 2005. The NGO Centre was located at "Phase I" of the centre. This is the first time a WTO Ministerial Conference and the NGO Centre was located under the same roof as the Conference proceedings. (See also
the NGO section of the Host Government's website


Access

Located on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, the HKCEC is easily accessible via the Star Ferry service, whose
Wan Chai Pier The Wan Chai Pier (), or Wan Chai Ferry Pier (), is a pier at the coast of Wan Chai North on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. The pier is operated by Star Ferry, and provides ferry services to Tsim Sha Tsui. The pier is near the Hong Kong Con ...
is situated just east of the main building and operates from the HKCEC across Victoria Harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui Pier, adjacent to the
Cultural Centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Cen ...
.
Wan Chai station Wan Chai () is a station on the of the Hong Kong MTR. The livery colour is lime green. It serves the Wan Chai locality within the district of the same name. The station platforms are located underneath Hennessy Road, a major trunk road conne ...
on the
Island line Island Line or Island line may refer to: * Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong * Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England ** Island Line (brand) Island Line is a brand of the ...
of the MTR is within walking distance and is linked to the HKCEC via a
pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
over O'Brien Road. Exhibition Centre station on the cross-harbour section of the
East Rail line The East Rail line () is one of ten lines of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It used to be one of the three lines of the Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR) network. It was known as the KCR British Section () from 1910 to 199 ...
and the proposed
North Island line The North Island line is a proposal to provide rapid transit service for the area between the existing MTR Island line and the northern coast of Hong Kong Island in order to relieve the already congested Island line. Originally, according to th ...
is directly located under the HKCEC. In addition, the HKCEC is served by numerous franchised bus routes operated by
New World First Bus New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) is the third-largest bus operator in Hong Kong. Established by NWS Holdings and FirstGroup in September 1998, it took over 88 China Motor Bus services in Hong Kong Island. Since 2020 it has been a s ...
, including several cross-harbour routes operated jointly with
Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...
.


In popular culture

*During the Chinese campaign of the 2003 video game '' Command & Conquer: Generals'', the player is ordered to destroy the HKCEC with military force after it falls under the control of a fictional terrorist group, the Global Liberation Army. The game series was banned in China. *It is also the setting for the grand finale in both ''
New Police Story ''New Police Story'' is a 2004 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Benny Chan, and also produced by and starring Jackie Chan. The film was released in the Hong Kong on 24 September 2004. The film is a reboot of the ''Police Story' ...
'' starring
Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...
, and ''
Gen-X Cops ''Gen-X Cops'' () is a 1999 Hong Kong action crime comedy film directed by Benny Chan, starring Nicholas Tse, Stephen Fung and Sam Lee. Synopsis Jet fuel is stolen by weapons smugglers. The fuel is reacquired by the Hong Kong police but then ...
''. *The structure played a major part in the film '' Transformers: Age of Extinction'', where a Decepticon ship is seen destroying the structure from above.


See also

*
Golden Bauhinia Square The Golden Bauhinia Square () is an open area in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The square was named after the giant statue of a golden ''Bauhinia blakeana'' at the centre of the area, situated outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where ...
*
Hong Kong Trade Development Council The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 50 offices around the world, includin ...
(and HKTDC Trade Fairs) *
Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area n ...


References


External links


The HKCEC Official website


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091016034808/http://www.som.com/content.cfm/hong_kong_convention_and_exhibition_centre SOM Project Webpage
Wong & Ouyang Project Webpage
* Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd.
"More than half-a-century of architectural design experience in Hong Kong"
section "Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Expansion Project", pp. 52–57, September 2009 {{Authority control 1997 establishments in Hong Kong Artificial islands of Hong Kong Commercial buildings completed in 1997 Convention and exhibition centres in Hong Kong Cultural infrastructure completed in 1997 Landmarks in Hong Kong Music venues in Hong Kong NWS Holdings Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings Wan Chai North