We should clarify that while construction firms have specifically cited feng shui as a motive for putting holes in their buildings, the unique design also has other purposes other than superstition, including heat ventilation and city code compliance. Feng shui is not always a factor in these design decisions but we did hope to show that the belief system has influenced architectural decisions in Hong Kong.
Thank you for the interesting episode Vox! Somehow I felt like this video has some sort of discrimination, it is indeed true that the ancient culture was damaged during the cultural revolution under Mao's government, but fengshui still exists everywhere in mainland China nowadays.
You need to hire some people to explain to you how racist what you just typed out for us was. It's actually ridiculous. Do you want to get into "superstitions" which direct architecture and subsidy in America? Or Europe?
No, not sure who gave you that idea... The holes are there to provide air circulation to those poor folks behind them.... It is a way to persuade the govt to relax on the height restriction when redevelop certain land plots. These holes only started showing up in early 2000s, after new construction in the 1990s created such a big issue from hot island effect
Vox Your research is apparently substandard and your staff too young to be equipped adequately with historical references. Buildings "with holes" started with Atlantis Condominium in Miami, Florida, U.S.A.. An excerpt of Wikipedia as of 8/2/2018 on Atlantis Condominium: The Atlantis Condominium is a landmark 20-story luxury condominium building in Miami, Florida. It was built between 1980-1982, and was designed by the architectural firm Arquitectonica. The building is known for its glass facade and primary color scheme and the 5-story palm court which is cut out of the building... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis_Condominium
Alexander Schneider The rival bank is the Bank of China which is a communist Chinese company, so technically the video wasn’t wrong. That audio clip sounds old though, like from a time when capitalist vs communist tensions were high, people probably wouldn’t describe it as a communist bank anymore, especially since it operates all over the world.
Superstitions aside, having large holes in tall buildings is actually very good for the surrounding area. It let the air flows and help keeps air from getting stagnate, a heat island effect, to a certain extend. Many older districts has buildings that act like a giant wall to maximize floor space, but it alos keeps hot air trapped in surrounding areas.
Not really, it's the opposite. It has the exact same effect as two tall buildings next to each other, only worse: all the air has to be pressed in a narrow gap, so there's always strong wind.
I know that feung shui is also some common sense. For example, you don't want to be in a building at the bottom of the hill when it floods. Also, have your house facing forward so that you get an early warning for incoming troubles.
4:20 that building which you said "people freak out because they look like smoking cigarette", that's not why people dislike it. People dislike it because it looks like a incense which Chinese use to worship the dead. We really really really don't like anything related to death (in fact we don't have 4th floor because four sounded like "dead" in Cantonese. We skip the 4th floor and name it "5th floor", so does 14th,24th,34th... and so on)
As a Hongkonger I can tell you, rather than Feng Shui, the better ventilation provided so as to reduce the heat island effect, lower the temperature and improve air quality, is the bigger reason why these holes are designed
yan-Deriction as soon as the Americans stop paying for the private jets of televangelists that claim they can use the power of jesus to cure cancer if you pay them
W A. "I'll remove my tumor as soon as you treat your AIDS" How about HK stop funding feng shui regardless of whether America stops funding televangelism.
yan-Deriction it doesn't hurt anyone and its not even a religion. There is no wars started because someone disagreed with different interpretations of feng shui.
you are quite stupid as a hongkonger Higher level can sell at a higher price. And becoz of the fixed plot ratio, the developer shift the flats to higher level for more profit. And the developer markets it as ventilation purpose, which you stupidly believe in. P.s. hongkonger here too
I'm from HK and was always told the holes were for better ventilation and to let light come through, since in older parts of HK where the buildings are close together and don't have holes, the air was really stagnant and the bottom floors were super dark. The feng shui thing is cool though!
Super ironic that during the time of the cultural revolution, the motherland china discarded feng shui, an ancient chinese belief, but British-ruled HK strongly preserved it
And now, HK people are bollocked for being more chinese then the actual chinese in the mainland !! That is because the people were more Hans chinese in HK, and from the mainland, they were really more Mongolian !!!!! CCP was really more Mongolian in attitude !
This explanation is amusing but not very accurate. I work in an engineering consultant in Hong Kong. For skyscraper projects like these (residential or commercial), there’re a whole lot of requirements in design for architects and engineers to follow. E.g. a vacant, unoccupied level has to be inserted in the middle of the building for the sake of fire insulation as stated in the buildings ordinance (this explains why there’s a gap floor in some skyscrapers); the ratio of “green roof top garden area” for the public to sellable floor area has to meet a certain value as stated on the land lease (this is why there’s a hole for greens in some skyscrapers); For buildings above certain heights or density, the design has to be adjusted to ensure ventilation/air circulation in the city is not disrupted, so as to prevent heat island effect (a good way to do this is to leave a “hole” in the buidling) The explanation about Fengshui is not entirely wrong, but its much more complicated than that, huh
Dont be so native. It is for profit as the plot ratio is fixed and higher level can be sold at higher price. And the developer market it as ventilation.
Max Cheung you’re right. Of course i see what they have been doing, as i work with/for them (unfortunately) I just want to make a point that it most likely has nth to do with Feng Shui
The holes also serves the purpose of ventilation. Land is extremely expensive in Hong Kong, so many buildings in the city centre, even the residential ones, are often taller than 80 storeys. These holes are designed to channel air so that the heat island effect and air pollution can be alleviated.
Rob Spagrenetti The heat island effect refers to the elevated ambient air temperature in comparison to the surrounding area caused by an urban landscape. It does exist and is quite significant.
Although Feng Shui is based on Superstition, it still holds sensible instructions that work in harmony for the well being of the people inside the homes and the environment. It might work well with the wind or provide well for the air ventilation and stuff like that.
The HSBC building also has no tall building blocking the water view, thus, keeping the wealth flowing and assets liquid. This status/view is literally set in stone. The HSBC and the HK government has an agreement that no tall building will ever be built in front of the HSBC building.
It's the same with Connaught Centre, the government agreed to never block the harbour view. The Post Office head office had to be low rise for that reason.
at the end of the video you realize its just a huge scam thats become legal there. They pay millions to these people to make sure its all good.. for real..
Those holes in buildings are for air ventilation and preventing heat trap in the city. I am from HK and have never heard of those are for dragons. (But we have many other feng shui related architectural designs.)
Vaibhav but their are always different interpretations depending on who you talk to from Hong Kong this might be an old folk legend which the commenter has not heard of
yeah maybe this is a legend I haven't heard of and we have so many feng shui legends, but hk government has a guideline on building's ventilation that developers follow to get higher floor area ratio. Thats why there are holes, not dragons.
I born and bring up in Hong Kong for over 50 years. I can tell the content of this series is truth. All of the top-grade tycoons in Hong Kong have their own Feng Shui Consultants. It is not only the roof of the HSBC building has cannons, but some other precious buidlings in Central, namely Entertainment Building.
I love this series, it is so simple and at the same time so beautiful. Love the music and the Videography, and I learn so much about other Countries and there Culture. *Thank you Vox and thank you Johnny!*
why does no one ever know what post-modernism is? it's supposed to be about applying classical elements from the past. . it's MODERNISM you don't like. which really not a singular art style or movement it's so many different styles in so many different countries. all united by the desire to look beautiful without really conforming to the classical rules and ratios of beauty. some accomplished that. many were horrid. but it was a good experiment overall i believe.
Majd Anbar post modernism is uglier than modern architecture. All that fake ornaments copied from old architecture. Nothing worse than a skyscraper imitating the roof of a house.
its actually because of the buildings in hong kong are so high, the buildings sometimes have a hole in them so that the air can be ventilated instead of being trapped in an area, making the city even hotter. but i guess feng shui plays a small part too.
That is one reason, the main reason they put holes in buildings is because they are strict plot ratios in HK, so putting holes in buildings means the developers can reduce the space taken up by lower floors and thus build higher; as high floors sell for more. It is the same reason many buildings in HK have L shapes.
I think feng shui is ancient people discovers that some ways to build things is better and some is worse but they couldn't explain why, so they made all these dragon stories.
just like any con man around the world, those feng shui consultants aren't any difference. Someone who rip off people to talk to their dead relative, evangelist in US who ask for new jet...etc They are more or less the same, take advantage of gullible people.
For your information, the Repulse Bay apartments (the buildings with holes for dragons) were designed by Rocco Yim and was inspired by the "Grande Arche" office building in France, and no they are not for dragons they are for aesthetic reasons.
Ok, "dragons" in Chinese Feng Shui don't necessary mean the actual creatures. It's actually just a metaphor of the flow of "luck". When they say the "dragons" come from mountain to water, that's saying the "luck" goes from mountains to water. Though Feng Shui is really just bunch of superstitions, but a part of it coincides with actual science. Water has always been the symbol of luck, and if you look at history, almost all port cities or financial major cities today are close by water. So water is certainly an economical device for generating fortune. Also, when things go from high place to flow (mountains to water), the momentum energy is also deemed as going to a low momentum energy. Both physics and chemistry agree that substance like to "settle" at low momentum energy. I know it's far fetched, but at least that's how people look at it.
Many major cities of the world are next to water because that's how trade was conducted before aeroplanes- by sea, and not because "water is better than no water", no?
lol joanne u got a bit carried away there 'all port cities or financial major cities today are close by water' ever come to think the reason for that might be that habitations need water for functional usage? To drink it, sewage, a port would be connected to other places? water is a basic need and water is a symbol for life not luck
shiny x one is something you do because of religion (hence RELIGIOUS beliefs) and one is something you do without reason and or because your used to even though you consciously know it’s not true
@@bruh2652 Because they are cults just scaled up. Tell a man there's an imaginary god in the sky and he'll believe you, tell a man that paints wet and he'll touch it just to make sure.
It all depends on the presence of the supreme divine entities. For example, Catholicism has God/Jesus, and it is being called a religion; but in the practices such as Feng Shui, there is not a specified god(s) or divine entity that makes up those rules. You can also apply this to some other practices, like some college students' belief that you have to ring the bell before graduation so that you can get good luck. It is a belief, but no one knows who sets up those rules. That's called a superstition.
Unfortunately you can't prove that there wasn't a sky daddy who farted out the universe. What you can do however is prove that arranging your furniture in certain "approved" ways doesn't really affect your "luck". That's one of the key differences between religion and superstition. Religion usually "informs" about the origin of the world in some way and can't be easily disproven, whereas superstition concerns itself with nebulous stuff like "luck" and "good fortune" and can be scientifically disproven.
I don’t really think it’s totally fengshui ... I think it’s designed so that the tall buildings won’t block all the wind, to maintain ventilation , if that makes sense
I study architecture, just a few of them seems like it. Those shows at 0:25 for example, those holes makes no sense in design, so i really think is Feng Shui based or the crappiest design ever in humanity (because it doesnt even make sense for ventilation neither). Then the HSBC seems like bs
Move between what buildings? Hong Kong's skyscrapers are literally located next to one another. It's not about wind moving *between* buildings. It's the fact that these buildings trap the heat in the city by blocking regular air circulation and reflecting sunlight back to other buildings or the ground as they are all covered in highly reflective glass. Of course, some of those holes don't really serve a purpose besides being a pure design element or the result of Fung Shui. Anyhow, they look pretty cool, so I think most people just don't care.
@@ohhello8229 but sometimes clients dont know it all. Thats why we study so many years. The ideal is that architects listen to their clients necesities and clients trust their architects cause why would you even hire a professional if you dont trust him? its like telling a doctor how to operate.
Legendary Broly Boi Look at a dragon on Google. Do you really think they look like a doggo? I think so. They look more like snek, and as such should be treated as danger noodles.
I'm from Hong Kong and liking how this series bringing some attention to the smaller but still interesting details of the city. The feng shui aspect is definitely quite unique to the city in how much mainstream acceptance it has (not just in building but in misc aspects like naming your kids, interior design etc). One suggestion though: I recommend taking a page from late Anthony Bourdain and try to interview some locals and hear it from their perspectives even if it results in the same point. Otherwise it could sound a little un-authentic and judgy from a foreigner.
Welp. Not because it’s a busy port for international docking, or that the island is not ran by a country and can have their own economic policies...NO...it’s because of invisible dragons... :3
Dragon gates? lol nope. There are legal restrictions to the amount of floor area a developer can build on a parcel of land. But apartments higher up have better views, and sell better! So what do they do? Put a hole in the building so more apartments can be constructed higher up!
+Joseph G You may look up official documents from HKSAR's Planning Department. Look for the word "Plot Ratio". For example, Table 1 on page 16: www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/tech_doc/hkpsg/full/pdf/ch2.pdf The complete guideline can be found here: www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/tech_doc/hkpsg/full/index.htm And this Appendix demonstrates how to compute building density from the Plot Ratio: www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/tech_doc/hkpsg/full/ch2/ch2_app_1.htm
Very interesting video. Love the Hong Kong skyline! it is definitely something everyone should see in person at least once in their lives bc no pictures do it justice IMO. I learned lots, thank you!
Dude i love you vox. Im born and raised in hong kong and i love my city more than anyone else. Thanks for teaching me so much about my own town. God bless you guys
This guy must have taken a tour from the same ignorant and insane tour guide I used when I first came to Hong Kong. The same BS stories, like the "cannons" on top of the HSBC building... Never mind the fact that they look the same as any maintenance crane on any other building (so they don't look like cannons), they are installed in the optimal place for the most coverage of the building, and the building was built long before the BOC building. The governor didn't "die one year after the building was completed." He died 3.5 years beforehand. Vox should have more journalistic integrity than to repeat the ramblings of whack jobs and con men as if they were fact.
Banks conducting interdimensional warfare does make for an entertaining story. Perhaps the designers/engineers aimed for the best of both worlds, justifying practical accessories to nutjobs in power in a language they can understand.
Nah its call playing the "self sufficient prophecy" game, its also a game of "social placebo". I mean if you can kill your competitor with the shape of your building, why not do it?
False reporting of foreign superstitions also breeds racist toxicity, as can be seen in the comments Replace the word “Feng Shui” with “aesthetics”, and suddenly everything seems reasonable
Feng Shui is now big in Sri Lanka too. To top that in Sri Lanka there are our own cultural ways and design to bring good luck and all. It’s now a Mish Mash.
"Shaped Hong Kong's skyline" ? -0.25% of all skyscrapers have a hole n Hong Kong. Come later to shape something. -Not even one of the lead architects of these, declared it was for Feng Shui reason, or any spiritual reason. All of them justified this massive hole in the future income of an already expensive city by : it gave to their building a unique design that will attract and serve the higher price of the m². -Heat ventilation and city code compliance do not recommend holes, and have other way to avoid that Hong Kong becomes worth than it is. They simulate all year long the air flux in dedicated centers, and the angle of construction is the N°1 parameters. So why this video ? Is this journalism ? I know we have to be suspicious of any internet content. But I had a little faith in journalism. Maybe you guys had a code. I guess not.
Geez, what's with the visual artifacts? Especially on black colors, although it was all over his face, the controller, and the concrete pier behind him at 4:48
Not 100% sure but supposedly cosmic rays and radiation can affect the camera sensor. The amount of radiation and cosmic rays increase the higher you go up so the more plane travel the more likely you'll get some dead pixels on the camera sensor
Laughs at chinese ancient tradition while believing in bearded old man who grants you wishes and brings you to the magical playland if you believe in him hard enough
This is the city I grew up in and although I knew about the four dragons going through the hole in The Repulse Bay to drink I didn't know about the controversy behind the architecture of Bank of China and Hopewell Center. Fascinating!
Dunkleosteus hk people don’t lol it’s just tradition just like how people believe in god but let’s be honest he may not exist but still do it because it’s traditional and apart of history
Here in Hong Kong, there are entire floors that are completely empty in commercial buildings that are for “fire safety”, but it’s mostly because of feng shui. I’d also like to point out that it’s not the triangles that “cut the chi”, it’s the fact that the entire building looks like a frickin’ box cutter, which is why there’s a huge beautiful garden at the bottom to compensate. Also the pool has nothing to do with the building looking like a cigarette.
I come from Hong Kong and I honestly don’t know about the fung shui role in our buildings before this video. Just when you think you know your city well enough....... Thank you Borders series!
When we looked for a new house Fengshui played a big part in which house to choose. The house we chose actually didn’t have great fengshui so my parents then fussed over furniture placement to make up for the poor position and facing of the house haha
OMG, the HSBC building does have "cannons" on top of the building! I always jokingly thought that, but did not realize that was the true intent. Does anyone know if this "cannon" design is true for buildings in Shanghai as well?
In High School I took a Comparative Religions course and we were learning about feng shui. There was a student insistent that mirrors on the ceiling was feng shui. Of course my teacher was telling the student that putting mirrors on the ceiling isn't feng shui. This "argument" (student was joking the whole time) lasted the whole semester. The teacher ended up putting a mirror over that students desk.
We should clarify that while construction firms have specifically cited feng shui as a motive for putting holes in their buildings, the unique design also has other purposes other than superstition, including heat ventilation and city code compliance. Feng shui is not always a factor in these design decisions but we did hope to show that the belief system has influenced architectural decisions in Hong Kong.
Thank you for the interesting episode Vox! Somehow I felt like this video has some sort of discrimination, it is indeed true that the ancient culture was damaged during the cultural revolution under Mao's government, but fengshui still exists everywhere in mainland China nowadays.
You need to hire some people to explain to you how racist what you just typed out for us was. It's actually ridiculous. Do you want to get into "superstitions" which direct architecture and subsidy in America? Or Europe?
its not racist to critique a different culture, in the same way it's not discrimination to critique another person
No, not sure who gave you that idea... The holes are there to provide air circulation to those poor folks behind them.... It is a way to persuade the govt to relax on the height restriction when redevelop certain land plots.
These holes only started showing up in early 2000s, after new construction in the 1990s created such a big issue from hot island effect
Vox Your research is apparently substandard and your staff too young to be equipped adequately with historical references. Buildings "with holes" started with Atlantis Condominium in Miami, Florida, U.S.A.. An excerpt of Wikipedia as of 8/2/2018 on Atlantis Condominium:
The Atlantis Condominium is a landmark 20-story luxury condominium building in Miami, Florida. It was built between 1980-1982, and was designed by the architectural firm Arquitectonica. The building is known for its glass facade and primary color scheme and the 5-story palm court which is cut out of the building... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis_Condominium
A bank has cannons literally pointing at a competitors bank lol
I love how snappy this is
Wasn’t the competitors bank a Communist bank or did I hear the video wrong?
Alexander Schneider The rival bank is the Bank of China which is a communist Chinese company, so technically the video wasn’t wrong. That audio clip sounds old though, like from a time when capitalist vs communist tensions were high, people probably wouldn’t describe it as a communist bank anymore, especially since it operates all over the world.
I find it odd that communists need a bank, I guess it is used for trade.
I wonder how many Karl Marx zero euros were in there, they are (ironically) worth millions.
these dragon gates will come in handy in the age of flying cars
Flying cars are not gonna happen, they're not practical. Listen to Elon Musk, tunnels are going to be the future
I'm gonna fly the Dragon 2 capsule and end up like uhhh Idk
@Britt Snapsters hk is not china
@@bruh-pn7hn Lol, yeah it was before they hand over it
Why wait? Just fly a plane through it.
Everybody gangsta till the dragon collides with their building.
Zuhair Ahmed Syed 😂😂
Lmao,I am dead 😂😂😂
*Pacific Rim soundtrack starts playing
🤣
This video helped me confirm that dragons were the ones the brought down the twin towers. Keep asking questions
Ahahaha ha
Our Founding Liars That 9/11 stuff was Lazer beams and a series of carefully placed mirrors.
Also, brought down the wall in the north for white walkers as well.
I think this is the only 9/11 joke I laughed at.
I feel bad for laughing at this
Superstitions aside, having large holes in tall buildings is actually very good for the surrounding area. It let the air flows and help keeps air from getting stagnate, a heat island effect, to a certain extend. Many older districts has buildings that act like a giant wall to maximize floor space, but it alos keeps hot air trapped in surrounding areas.
ArchOfWinter i guess you just translated then significance of “dragon”
ArchOfWinter 👏👏
Not really, it's the opposite. It has the exact same effect as two tall buildings next to each other, only worse: all the air has to be pressed in a narrow gap, so there's always strong wind.
I know that feung shui is also some common sense. For example, you don't want to be in a building at the bottom of the hill when it floods. Also, have your house facing forward so that you get an early warning for incoming troubles.
LOLOLOLOLOL, as an "East people," this comment is hilarious.
Regardless of feng shui being a superstition, the city just looks beautiful.
Zedek no. Ny is way nicer
K Z A “no. Hong Kong is way nicer” it’s called an opinion you don’t have to say no something else is better.
K Z A No hong kong is def nicer than nyc
Until it gets polluted
Been to NY couple times, I don’t see a city with trash and crime everywhere can beat HK.
This series is so freaking good
Yes Theory your channel is amazing
No Theory
Yes! I AGREE
I love your channel Yes Theory.
Right! Boarders is such a good series!
4:20 that building which you said "people freak out because they look like smoking cigarette", that's not why people dislike it. People dislike it because it looks like a incense which Chinese use to worship the dead. We really really really don't like anything related to death (in fact we don't have 4th floor because four sounded like "dead" in Cantonese. We skip the 4th floor and name it "5th floor", so does 14th,24th,34th... and so on)
Viva la China 4 sounds like dead in Mandarin as well.
Want watermelons anyone?
@@somebodysomewhere3451 but the mainland chinese are less superstitious than hong kong people
so does in japan (死 = shi, 四 = shi)
It's also the same reason why you should never put your chopsticks sticking out of the rice bowl in China and I think Korea and Japan as well
As a Hongkonger I can tell you, rather than Feng Shui, the better ventilation provided so as to reduce the heat island effect, lower the temperature and improve air quality, is the bigger reason why these holes are designed
Now if only hong kong would stop paying feng shui criminals for their "services"
yan-Deriction as soon as the Americans stop paying for the private jets of televangelists that claim they can use the power of jesus to cure cancer if you pay them
W A.
"I'll remove my tumor as soon as you treat your AIDS"
How about HK stop funding feng shui regardless of whether America stops funding televangelism.
yan-Deriction it doesn't hurt anyone and its not even a religion. There is no wars started because someone disagreed with different interpretations of feng shui.
you are quite stupid as a hongkonger
Higher level can sell at a higher price.
And becoz of the fixed plot ratio, the developer shift the flats to higher level for more profit.
And the developer markets it as ventilation purpose, which you stupidly believe in.
P.s. hongkonger here too
I'm from HK and was always told the holes were for better ventilation and to let light come through, since in older parts of HK where the buildings are close together and don't have holes, the air was really stagnant and the bottom floors were super dark. The feng shui thing is cool though!
foreveryoung52 thats what they want you to think
foreveryoung52 Same, that's what I was told. To let natural sunlight pass through!
Same bro
yeah, imo feng shui has really logical thinking behind it
Yep. It's just poor journalism for the Western guillible and view counts. They have to make everything in Asia weird to fit Westerncentric stereotype.
So thoughtful! I am sure the dragons appreciate this.
Michael Jay - Value Investing hahahahaha
The fact that no dragon to date has caused disaster is absolute testament to this.
Imagine being one of the largest dragons though. It'd be like a door that's are too short for incredibly tall people.
Can we get any dragons to confirm?
The dragon gates also allow airflow to pass through, which minimize the urban heat island effect.
Super ironic that during the time of the cultural revolution, the motherland china discarded feng shui, an ancient chinese belief, but British-ruled HK strongly preserved it
And now, HK people are bollocked for being more chinese then the actual chinese in the mainland !! That is because the people were more Hans chinese in HK, and from the mainland, they were really more Mongolian !!!!! CCP was really more Mongolian in attitude !
@@MeiinUK Don't play racist cards here, because I'm sure you haven't seen how the CCP treats its minority ethnic group, including the Mongolian.
I don't think that the ruling British put as much effort into preserving it as much as they just didn't do anything to remove it.
As if fengshui is something to be proud of...lol
@@MeiinUK what are you babbling about? How are they more Mongolian? Do you look down on Mongols or something? lol
This explanation is amusing but not very accurate. I work in an engineering consultant in Hong Kong. For skyscraper projects like these (residential or commercial), there’re a whole lot of requirements in design for architects and engineers to follow.
E.g. a vacant, unoccupied level has to be inserted in the middle of the building for the sake of fire insulation as stated in the buildings ordinance (this explains why there’s a gap floor in some skyscrapers);
the ratio of “green roof top garden area” for the public to sellable floor area has to meet a certain value as stated on the land lease (this is why there’s a hole for greens in some skyscrapers);
For buildings above certain heights or density, the design has to be adjusted to ensure ventilation/air circulation in the city is not disrupted, so as to prevent heat island effect (a good way to do this is to leave a “hole” in the buidling)
The explanation about Fengshui is not entirely wrong, but its much more complicated than that, huh
Dont be so native.
It is for profit as the plot ratio is fixed and higher level can be sold at higher price. And the developer market it as ventilation.
Max Cheung you’re right. Of course i see what they have been doing, as i work with/for them (unfortunately)
I just want to make a point that it most likely has nth to do with Feng Shui
Ho Lam Cheng Hey, thanks for adding your comment. You have an interesting perspective on this.
Yeah thats a cool perspective
and it looks coool ngl
I like you, Ho Lam Cheng.
The holes also serves the purpose of ventilation. Land is extremely expensive in Hong Kong, so many buildings in the city centre, even the residential ones, are often taller than 80 storeys. These holes are designed to channel air so that the heat island effect and air pollution can be alleviated.
Ferro-Plastic Railway “so that the heat island effect” 10/10 science
Rob Spagrenetti The heat island effect refers to the elevated ambient air temperature in comparison to the surrounding area caused by an urban landscape. It does exist and is quite significant.
Wagacca feel pretty shitty man, if i gotta be honest. Probably gonna take a long walk and kms
Don't walk too much in cities then, the low albedo, low ventilation, combined with all the thermal cars and AC units will make it unpleasant
This is what I thought the video was going to be about. Then when he started talking about dragons I thought he was kidding...
*Can't the dragons just fly **_over_** the buildings?!*
Sure, but it will make them cranky. And you wouldn't want that.
Guess their lazy like us
Can a genii main just fly over a building?
Let me call my dragon friend and ask him
They've been adopting a western diet.
How do you compete with other companies?
A: just make good products
HSBC: "shoot" their building
And I thought it was some kind of a serious architectural reason, like the wind passing through or something...
Most of those "building with holes" are aimed to tackle urban heat island effect actually, as least that's what I believe in
Yes it's mainly for ventilation and safety. Love Vox but this video is a stretch. Too bad many ppl already believe the misleading content
It is. Dragons coming down the mount and wind should feel the same. The important thing is to respect nature.
I have bought it was just incase somone tries to pull another 9/11
Although Feng Shui is based on Superstition, it still holds sensible instructions that work in harmony for the well being of the people inside the homes and the environment. It might work well with the wind or provide well for the air ventilation and stuff like that.
The HSBC building also has no tall building blocking the water view, thus, keeping the wealth flowing and assets liquid. This status/view is literally set in stone. The HSBC and the HK government has an agreement that no tall building will ever be built in front of the HSBC building.
It's the same with Connaught Centre, the government agreed to never block the harbour view. The Post Office head office had to be low rise for that reason.
additionally，HSBC bought the land in front of the HSBC building. that is the real reason no tall building blocking the sea view
@steve crawford hahahhaha
"Who stabbed this man!?" .... "The evil building did it."
Lol
😂
When you started talking about dragons, I thought you were joking. This was fascinating
it just seems like money grubbing snake oil salesman stuff to me... "it's for good luck! totally not bullshit"
This does sound silly but what I can say, we Chinese can be very superstitious.
at the end of the video you realize its just a huge scam thats become legal there. They pay millions to these people to make sure its all good.. for real..
Most of the buildings are in the Kowloon, which literally translates to 'nine dragons'
i bet you lost most of ur video games during that time too
You could call those buildings ' Holy '
Ba Dum Tss
Shaun Patrick ya,I would build up that joke
thanks
I would say they have a dragon-esque aesthetic.
😎😎 YYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH
Those holes in buildings are for air ventilation and preventing heat trap in the city.
I am from HK and have never heard of those are for dragons.
(But we have many other feng shui related architectural designs.)
Pak Tung Ma air Ventilation that comes from the dragons ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Jk I’d agree with your point tho
what else can u expect from white supremacist vox media that always passive aggresively attacks other cultures but people are too dumb to notice it
Vaibhav but their are always different interpretations depending on who you talk to from Hong Kong this might be an old folk legend which the commenter has not heard of
Lol THANK YOU I'm from hk too and I have NEVER heard of dragon holes
yeah maybe this is a legend I haven't heard of and we have so many feng shui legends, but hk government has a guideline on building's ventilation that developers follow to get higher floor area ratio. Thats why there are holes, not dragons.
I born and bring up in Hong Kong for over 50 years. I can tell the content of this series is truth. All of the top-grade tycoons in Hong Kong have their own Feng Shui Consultants. It is not only the roof of the HSBC building has cannons, but some other precious buidlings in Central, namely Entertainment Building.
The architects themselves said they just did it for the sake of innovation, nothing to do with Feng Shui
I love this series, it is so simple and at the same time so beautiful.
Love the music and the Videography, and I learn so much about other Countries and there Culture.
*Thank you Vox and thank you Johnny!*
Our culture is misunderstood,oh no.....
Tulsi Gabbard 2020
I really like skyscrapers like this. It got something aesthetic
Edit also you can fly with drones trough it
i think hk skyscrapers are fugly!
Way better than those post-modernist architecture in the west.
devin Ъrown Pretty sure it's illigal to fly a drone near buildings.
why does no one ever know what post-modernism is? it's supposed to be about applying classical elements from the past.
.
it's MODERNISM you don't like. which really not a singular art style or movement it's so many different styles in so many different countries. all united by the desire to look beautiful without really conforming to the classical rules and ratios of beauty. some accomplished that. many were horrid. but it was a good experiment overall i believe.
Majd Anbar post modernism is uglier than modern architecture. All that fake ornaments copied from old architecture. Nothing worse than a skyscraper imitating the roof of a house.
Its amazing what culture does to influence architecture. Every place is unique and I love that.
lol sorry im happy and your not
@@rat3139 im not the one who obsesses myself with Japanese culture you pathetic weeb, people like you have no use or meaning in this world
What does japan have to do with this? Did you watch the video? That's Hong Kong. Do you even know where that is?
he just a troll dude
Yeah clearly its still pretty funny how stupid they get. Im just havin some fun lol
So you're telling me that when I have a bad day, I can blame a building and the government has to pay me?
Feng Shui masters would have to investigate and agree with you first.
its actually because of the buildings in hong kong are so high, the buildings sometimes have a hole in them so that the air can be ventilated instead of being trapped in an area, making the city even hotter. but i guess feng shui plays a small part too.
That is one reason, the main reason they put holes in buildings is because they are strict plot ratios in HK, so putting holes in buildings means the developers can reduce the space taken up by lower floors and thus build higher; as high floors sell for more.
It is the same reason many buildings in HK have L shapes.
i think so. They are doing that to reduce heat island effect other than superstitious considerations.
I think feng shui is ancient people discovers that some ways to build things is better and some is worse but they couldn't explain why, so they made all these dragon stories.
It’s all those reasons.
How do I become a million dollar feng shui consultant?
Jttv that actually depends on your own feng shui to see if you are qualified to become a feng shui consultant
Step one, be Chinese.
just like any con man around the world, those feng shui consultants aren't any difference.
Someone who rip off people to talk to their dead relative,
evangelist in US who ask for new jet...etc
They are more or less the same, take advantage of gullible people.
you study to become one
You gotta drink 10 cups of ivory and frog leg tea then your chi will have ascended and you will be then fully qualified feng shui-ist
Short answer: Invisible dragons go through the buildings to go into the water for some splashy splashy
For your information, the Repulse Bay apartments (the buildings with holes for dragons) were designed by Rocco Yim and was inspired by the "Grande Arche" office building in France, and no they are not for dragons they are for aesthetic reasons.
Dragon: *Snaps*
Building: I don't feel so good
I don't feel so good because of this overused joke...
I don't wanna go mr stark
Mr. Doob: Makes infinity war joke
Me: I don’t feel so good
Fung Shui may be considered to be superstition, but I think it produces a very beautiful architecture.
Lol no
k z a It's that person opinion hence s/he said 'I think'.
Rodney Kelly Feng* Shui
ShinyDoritos01 风水 thank you
ShinyDoritos01 4:53 But it says "fung shui" there??
I thought it was glory hole for Godzilla.
Donald J Trump it is for you, mr President
#MAGA!
Mr President please confirm with Xi Jinping on your next meeting
Youre public enemy
R/cursedcomment anyone?
Ok, "dragons" in Chinese Feng Shui don't necessary mean the actual creatures. It's actually just a metaphor of the flow of "luck". When they say the "dragons" come from mountain to water, that's saying the "luck" goes from mountains to water. Though Feng Shui is really just bunch of superstitions, but a part of it coincides with actual science. Water has always been the symbol of luck, and if you look at history, almost all port cities or financial major cities today are close by water. So water is certainly an economical device for generating fortune. Also, when things go from high place to flow (mountains to water), the momentum energy is also deemed as going to a low momentum energy. Both physics and chemistry agree that substance like to "settle" at low momentum energy. I know it's far fetched, but at least that's how people look at it.
Many major cities of the world are next to water because that's how trade was conducted before aeroplanes- by sea, and not because "water is better than no water", no?
I believe you just strengthened my argument, honey xoxo
lol joanne u got a bit carried away there 'all port cities or financial major cities today are close by water'
ever come to think the reason for that might be that habitations need water for functional usage? To drink it, sewage, a port would be connected to other places?
water is a basic need and water is a symbol for life not luck
"Almost all port cities... are close by water." You don't say...
It's called a PORT city for a reason,of course there is water.
This is like BuzzFeed for smart people
givememore4free BuzzFeed has Turned into nothing but Cheap CLICKBAIT Content. Guys at Vox really put some production value.
Vox>BuzzfuckingFeed
SeeASquared "has turned into"? Dude buzzfeed has been exclusively clickbait content since its inception. What are you talking about?
Imagine walking and just seeing a dragon stuck in one of those holes
Dragon: Hong Kong, I don't feel so good
G_J_C 95 you mean american dragons
Sumo Dragons
that would be awesome
Thats japanese.
or these uh 'dragons' that totally exist could.... hmm i don't know maybe fly around or over them?
I don't know, ask them
HK Dragons are known to be lazy...
Chinese dragons dont fly they more or less just float
Can we get 5000 subscribers with no videos? GOD IS FAKE
Well I guess it's more about sending them a message that they did not place these buildings there to annoy them.
I love this, keep it up!
is a series who need to keep it up when there's a keep it up while you scroll down..okay now u just realise what i just said.
easily the best series vox has ever produced. it's not even close
only 0,25% of buildings in hong kong have holes in them, and it's usually for style and uniqueness purposes.
Interesting how some beliefs and practices are called "religion" and others called "superstition"...
shiny x one is something you do because of religion (hence RELIGIOUS beliefs) and one is something you do without reason and or because your used to even though you consciously know it’s not true
[whispers] actually, a lot of religions started as cults.
@@bruh2652 Because they are cults just scaled up. Tell a man there's an imaginary god in the sky and he'll believe you, tell a man that paints wet and he'll touch it just to make sure.
It all depends on the presence of the supreme divine entities. For example, Catholicism has God/Jesus, and it is being called a religion; but in the practices such as Feng Shui, there is not a specified god(s) or divine entity that makes up those rules. You can also apply this to some other practices, like some college students' belief that you have to ring the bell before graduation so that you can get good luck. It is a belief, but no one knows who sets up those rules. That's called a superstition.
Unfortunately you can't prove that there wasn't a sky daddy who farted out the universe. What you can do however is prove that arranging your furniture in certain "approved" ways doesn't really affect your "luck". That's one of the key differences between religion and superstition. Religion usually "informs" about the origin of the world in some way and can't be easily disproven, whereas superstition concerns itself with nebulous stuff like "luck" and "good fortune" and can be scientifically disproven.
So airplanes could go through it instead of hitting it
M Isa if Merica had done this there would not be a 9/11
9/11 was a dragon job
It was really obvious wasn't it??? 😂😂😂
HAHAHAHAHA
Dang....
I don’t really think it’s totally fengshui ... I think it’s designed so that the tall buildings won’t block all the wind, to maintain ventilation , if that makes sense
the wind can move in between buildings
I study architecture, just a few of them seems like it. Those shows at 0:25 for example, those holes makes no sense in design, so i really think is Feng Shui based or the crappiest design ever in humanity (because it doesnt even make sense for ventilation neither). Then the HSBC seems like bs
Move between what buildings? Hong Kong's skyscrapers are literally located next to one another. It's not about wind moving *between* buildings. It's the fact that these buildings trap the heat in the city by blocking regular air circulation and reflecting sunlight back to other buildings or the ground as they are all covered in highly reflective glass. Of course, some of those holes don't really serve a purpose besides being a pure design element or the result of Fung Shui. Anyhow, they look pretty cool, so I think most people just don't care.
Not everything has to be scientifically logical
nope.
Higher level can sell in a higher price.
And becoz of the fixed plot ratio, the developer build the flats to higher level for more profit.
Really fascinating, I learn new things with each episode. Keep up the good work Vox!
Imagine being an architect and your client making it harder for you to design just to avoid "bad luck"
Architects work for the client so they can't really complain
@@ohhello8229 but sometimes clients dont know it all. Thats why we study so many years. The ideal is that architects listen to their clients necesities and clients trust their architects cause why would you even hire a professional if you dont trust him? its like telling a doctor how to operate.
Well, these dragons are nothin but *_Deadly Flying Danger Noodles_*
Just tell them that they're *Gud Boi Sneks* and _BOOM,_ problem solved!
Legendary Broly Boi
Look at a dragon on Google. Do you really think they look like a doggo? I think so. They look more like snek, and as such should be treated as danger noodles.
SciBlast Official
True... lemme edit it real quick..
How bout now?
Dragons don't understand English.
Cringe
Legendary Broly Boi 200iq Boi spotted.
Everybody gangsta ‘til the cannons actually shoot.
*_HONG KONG IS MADE OF CHEESE THAT'S WHY THERE'S HOLES_*
JedDraws got to let that chi flow
Makes sense
Looks like the Swiss got to them...
JedDraws the holes are there to allow planes to fly through them. That was the first mistakes New York made.
You cheddar believe it's made of cheese.
I loved Hong Kong, it was contributed by my parents who moved to Australia. I am grateful to them.
I'm from Hong Kong and liking how this series bringing some attention to the smaller but still interesting details of the city. The feng shui aspect is definitely quite unique to the city in how much mainstream acceptance it has (not just in building but in misc aspects like naming your kids, interior design etc). One suggestion though: I recommend taking a page from late Anthony Bourdain and try to interview some locals and hear it from their perspectives even if it results in the same point. Otherwise it could sound a little un-authentic and judgy from a foreigner.
As a Hongkonger, I didn't know there is a subsidy for Feng Shui disruption. Need to check that out
-It's for al-qaida to fly trough the towers with their planes without destroying them.- Dragon gates, interesting.
I thought the same thing
👍
lmao
I like how HSBC building had cannons pointing at Bank of China building, that's very competitive
airplane: im going to do what they call a pro gamer move
9/11
From what I understand, they used Feng Shui against the British in one of their buildings.
the Bank of China Building was sort of the Communist Chinese telling the British HK is now theirs
Guess why Hong Kong's economy is pretty good
Welp. Not because it’s a busy port for international docking, or that the island is not ran by a country and can have their own economic policies...NO...it’s because of invisible dragons...
:3
Well... duh
Finn Tran Its the dragons mate what are you on about
Beary Boy not for nothing its called one of the four asian tigers.
Hint: New York, London, Hong Kong
4:57 it really does stick out a lot...
It's the coolest building. Battlefield 4 flashbacks...
0:25 I live there OMG!!
Are you serious or is this a joke
robo red no they're serious i basically live right next to that complex
Doxxed
Ah I see, you’re filthy rich. Enjoying Bel Air?
Ah I see, are you on a vpn?
Dragon gates? lol nope. There are legal restrictions to the amount of floor area a developer can build on a parcel of land. But apartments higher up have better views, and sell better! So what do they do? Put a hole in the building so more apartments can be constructed higher up!
This makes more sense than that dragon gate bullshit
Not sure if there's such legal restriction (in Hong Kong) www.cnn.com/style/article/hong-kong-skyscrapers-with-holes
+Joseph G You may look up official documents from HKSAR's Planning Department. Look for the word "Plot Ratio". For example, Table 1 on page 16:
www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/tech_doc/hkpsg/full/pdf/ch2.pdf
The complete guideline can be found here:
www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/tech_doc/hkpsg/full/index.htm
And this Appendix demonstrates how to compute building density from the Plot Ratio:
www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/tech_doc/hkpsg/full/ch2/ch2_app_1.htm
DeepSpace12 thanks. Much appreciated.
So glad this man pronounced feng shui like fung shway instead of fang shwee like americans
your shirt looks like an LED screen at 4:00 👀
Hybrid Trap how?
oh wait...
No
The video probably didn't export well or his camera is having some issue
How about 4:38?
The "cannons" on top of the HSBC building are amazing.
Very interesting video. Love the Hong Kong skyline! it is definitely something everyone should see in person at least once in their lives bc no pictures do it justice IMO. I learned lots, thank you!
Dude i love you vox. Im born and raised in hong kong and i love my city more than anyone else. Thanks for teaching me so much about my own town. God bless you guys
What ! Dragon gate ? I tough you was joking. In western buildings exist holes too they help the ventilation of the building.
Aiden Howe its strange the video never talk about this other idea.
This guy must have taken a tour from the same ignorant and insane tour guide I used when I first came to Hong Kong. The same BS stories, like the "cannons" on top of the HSBC building... Never mind the fact that they look the same as any maintenance crane on any other building (so they don't look like cannons), they are installed in the optimal place for the most coverage of the building, and the building was built long before the BOC building.
The governor didn't "die one year after the building was completed." He died 3.5 years beforehand.
Vox should have more journalistic integrity than to repeat the ramblings of whack jobs and con men as if they were fact.
Banks conducting interdimensional warfare does make for an entertaining story. Perhaps the designers/engineers aimed for the best of both worlds, justifying practical accessories to nutjobs in power in a language they can understand.
😂😂
Nah its call playing the "self sufficient prophecy" game, its also a game of "social placebo".
I mean if you can kill your competitor with the shape of your building, why not do it?
+
False reporting of foreign superstitions also breeds racist toxicity, as can be seen in the comments
Replace the word “Feng Shui” with “aesthetics”, and suddenly everything seems reasonable
*Just fly over the buildings*
p.d d.p correct fake snakes don’t fly lol
This series is hands down the best series on RUclips. No exaggeration when I say that.
Feng Shui is now big in Sri Lanka too. To top that in Sri Lanka there are our own cultural ways and design to bring good luck and all. It’s now a Mish Mash.
+Miyuru Weerarathna It is probably Vastu Shastra, not Feng Shui.
Darkhorse nope it's feng shui, a lot of crap practitioners out there misleading the public
Oh no, i see a nerf necessary in the future
" fengshui " help China buy your island Sri Lanka ?
"Shaped Hong Kong's skyline" ?
-0.25% of all skyscrapers have a hole n Hong Kong. Come later to shape something.
-Not even one of the lead architects of these, declared it was for Feng Shui reason, or any spiritual reason. All of them justified this massive hole in the future income of an already expensive city by : it gave to their building a unique design that will attract and serve the higher price of the m².
-Heat ventilation and city code compliance do not recommend holes, and have other way to avoid that Hong Kong becomes worth than it is. They simulate all year long the air flux in dedicated centers, and the angle of construction is the N°1 parameters.
So why this video ? Is this journalism ? I know we have to be suspicious of any internet content. But I had a little faith in journalism. Maybe you guys had a code. I guess not.
Right
Thanks Léo ;)
*We should take the dragons, and push it somewhere else!*
Push!!!!!!!
Vox Borders is one of the best on RUclips right now!!
This is by far my favorite series. I am constantly fascinated with your stories. Keep up the great reporting.
Geez, what's with the visual artifacts? Especially on black colors, although it was all over his face, the controller, and the concrete pier behind him at 4:48
Not 100% sure but supposedly cosmic rays and radiation can affect the camera sensor. The amount of radiation and cosmic rays increase the higher you go up so the more plane travel the more likely you'll get some dead pixels on the camera sensor
Somebody messed up the color correction and pushed the blacks beyond 100%
It’s glitter
Didn't notice it. The story was too interesting.
It looks like the stuff I see. Know you what Visual snow looks like.
*bruh*
_Bob McCoy *bruh*
B r u h
This was my exact reaction looll
Sounds like a load of hoopla
Laughs at chinese ancient tradition while believing in bearded old man who grants you wishes and brings you to the magical playland if you believe in him hard enough
the info that the next building has a cannon against the bad luck is amazing
I think they actually glory holes
Gerard Cada lol how do you think of that 😆
For Godzilla?
This comment just made my day😂😂😂👏👏
for mandigo
...for dragons.
this guy's source is the cab driver XD
That intro music was fire
This is the city I grew up in and although I knew about the four dragons going through the hole in The Repulse Bay to drink I didn't know about the controversy behind the architecture of Bank of China and Hopewell Center. Fascinating!
I didn’t realize people still believe in dragons.
Dunkleosteus hk people don’t lol it’s just tradition just like how people believe in god but let’s be honest he may not exist but still do it because it’s traditional and apart of history
Nuubeh I actually do. Please don't speak for the majority of hong kong
Nobody actually believes that there're dragons, it's just our culture and tradition by now
People also still believe in Angels, Devils and Gods...
Realize this: people still believe in god
Here in Hong Kong, there are entire floors that are completely empty in commercial buildings that are for “fire safety”, but it’s mostly because of feng shui. I’d also like to point out that it’s not the triangles that “cut the chi”, it’s the fact that the entire building looks like a frickin’ box cutter, which is why there’s a huge beautiful garden at the bottom to compensate. Also the pool has nothing to do with the building looking like a cigarette.
Honestly, I've lived in Hong Kong for 4 years, and I never knew this
I come from Hong Kong and I honestly don’t know about the fung shui role in our buildings before this video. Just when you think you know your city well enough....... Thank you Borders series!
Feng-shui is a Chinese version of Geomancy. The dragon they referred to is actually the flow of energy or chi which can affect luck.
When we looked for a new house Fengshui played a big part in which house to choose. The house we chose actually didn’t have great fengshui so my parents then fussed over furniture placement to make up for the poor position and facing of the house haha
i am hong kongnese and approved this video. keep up the good work! subscribed!
Rumor has it that the Hong Kong HSBC building can be entirely disassembled and shipped out should the Hong Kong situation turn sour
It's true lol
I believe this, cos I think it is made from metal isn't it ???
This is the very best content from Vox
OMG, the HSBC building does have "cannons" on top of the building! I always jokingly thought that, but did not realize that was the true intent. Does anyone know if this "cannon" design is true for buildings in Shanghai as well?
In High School I took a Comparative Religions course and we were learning about feng shui. There was a student insistent that mirrors on the ceiling was feng shui. Of course my teacher was telling the student that putting mirrors on the ceiling isn't feng shui. This "argument" (student was joking the whole time) lasted the whole semester. The teacher ended up putting a mirror over that students desk.
3:50
That guy is like: "You say fung shui?"
As a Hong Konger I don’t know all these. Thanks Vox!
Everyone gangsta until the cannons actually fire
It's fairly evident that the dragons will need holes to fly through. The consequences of "dragon splatting" is a fung shui trainwreck. ☺️
ElyssaAnderson no dragons don't splat they just simply tip over buildings with momentum
I thought they were air holes.
I live in Hong Kong and never knew why they had these holes in buildings now I know thanks vox
Imagine if Twin Towers have holes, 9/11 won't happen because the plane just "fly through"
or maybe they just hit the building where there is no hole ...