Man in ceremonial navy blue uniform and cap ringing the bell prior to firing the Noon Day Gun, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Hong Kong's 'Noon Day Gun' is immortalised in Noel Coward's 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'. It has been fired at midday every day since 1860. A gunner dressed in traditional military uniform does the honours, although bigwigs, on some days, pay for the privilege, the money going to charity. The story of the gun goes back to Hong Kong's early days, when the Jardine Trading Company moved its headquarters from Canton to East Point, which it protected with a shore battery and detachment of guards. It became customary, whenever Jardine's taipan (head of business in China) arrived or left, to fire the East Point guns as a salute. The story goes that, on one occasion, the taipan's fast schooner, approaching East Point, passed a naval ship when the normal salute was fired. This annoyed the senior naval officer, unaware of the practice. As a penalty, Jardine's was instructed to fire a 'Noon Day Gun' as a time signal for Hong Kong. Before the gun is fired, a bell is rung. The present gun, a Hotchkiss 3 Pounder, used at the Battle of Jutland in World War 1, is a replacement for an original gun lost during the Japanese Occupation (1942-45). 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen' includes the lyric: 'In Hong Kong they strike a gong and fire off a noon day gun'.
Size: 4999px × 3360px
Location: Noon Day Gun, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, China
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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