Looking at the HSBC Tower, which was built in 1986, you may wonder why it is supported by eight pillars – the construction of which combined extraordinary technical prowess with astronomical cost. As with so many of the buildings in Hong Kong, the answer is that the tower adheres to the very strict rules of Feng Shui. One of these rules states that centres of power should always be accessible via a straight line, and as the tower was built on the road to Government House, it was important to leave the access clear – under the tower’s 52 floors!