Description of the attraction
The Midday Cannon is a former naval artillery gun installed in a small enclosed area in the Causeway Bay area. The cannon is a famous tourist attraction, firing daily at noon.
Causeway Bay, formerly East Point, was the first piece of land in Hong Kong to be sold by the colonial government at a public auction in 1841. It was bought by the Jardine Matheson community, which still owns the land and the gun itself. Reclamation has shifted the coastline north, the name East Point has lost its relevance.
The tradition of saluting at noon dates back to 1860. Own guards welcomed the arrival of Mr. Jardine's ship. One day, a senior British naval officer, unaware of this tradition, called off a shot because this salute was the standard salute of government officials and senior military officers. As a result, as a punishment, an order was given for eternal times to shoot every day at the same time.
The Imperial Japanese Army detonated the cannon in 1941. The British Royal Navy, after returning the island to its control in 1945, provided the Jardines with a new six-pounder cannon that continued the tradition of the midday salvo. After complaints about the too loud sound of a shot in 1961, the artillery gun was replaced with a three-pound one, which was used in the battle of Jutland during the First World War.
Although British rule ended in Hong Kong in 1997, the tradition of midday fireworks continues and usually draws crowds of tourists. Uniformed guards march to the scene, ring the bell, signaling the end of the morning watch. Then the officer on duty fires the cannon, after which he rings the bell again and locks the gun.
You can get closer to the attraction through the tunnel under Gloucester Road.
