The Noon 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 and is fired daily at noon.
Causeway Bay, formerly East Point, is the first piece of land in Hong Kong sold by the colonial government at public auction in 1841. It was purchased by the Jardine Matheson community, which still owns the land and the cannon itself. Reclamation shifted the shoreline to the north, the name East Point became irrelevant.
The tradition of saluting at noon began in 1860. The Own Guard welcomed the arrival of Mr Jardine's ship. On one occasion, a senior British naval officer, unaware of this tradition, cancelled the shot, as such a salute was a standard greeting for government officials and senior military officers. As a result, as a punishment, it was ordered to be fired at the same time every day in perpetuity.
The Japanese Imperial Army exploded a cannon in 1941. The British Royal Navy, after regaining control of the island in 1945, provided the Hardines with a new six-pounder gun which continued the tradition of the noon salvo. After complaints that the shot sounded too loud, the gun was replaced in 1961 with a three-pounder, which had been used in the Battle of Jutland during World War I.
Although British rule ended in Hong Kong in 1997, the tradition of the noon salute continues and usually draws a crowd of tourists. Uniformed guards march to the scene and ring a bell, signalling the end of the morning watch. The guard on duty then fires the cannon before ringing the bell again and locking the cannon in place.
You can get close to the landmark via a tunnel under Gloucester Road.
