Movie Capitals: 15 Top Filming Locations In Hong Kong

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong
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The ever-evolving landscape of Hong Kong has been a magnet for businesses and tourists for many years. And as it turns out, you can add movie studios to that list of admirers. In addition to Hong Kong’s own infamous film industry, Hollywood studios have also clamoured to set their projects against the city’s vibrant architecture and draw on its cultural history to bring their blockbusters to life. Here’s our pick of famous movie locations you can actually visit!

By Victoria Luxford

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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International Finance Centre, Tower 2 – Christopher Nolan showcased Hong Kong’s eye-catching International Finance Tower as part of Oscar-winning masterpiece The Dark Knight in 2008. A portion of the film was shot in and around the tower, culminating in the Caped Crusader making a spectacular dive from the structure’s roof. While it’s doubtful they encourage that kind of activity, the tower (the second highest in Hong Kong) is an easily found piece of Hollywood history.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery – Completed in the 1950s, The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is a wondrous temple in Sha Tin, boasting incredible architecture and (despite the name) around 13,000 Buddha statues. Fans of Hong Kong cinema may recognise it from the opening moments of Infernal Affairs, the epic police thriller and modern classic that was remade in 2006 as American film The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Gage Street – The first Rush Hour film focused on Hong Kong legend Jackie Chan as a stranger in LA. In 2001’s Rush Hour 2, his co-star Chris Rock is the fish out of water. You can follow in his confused footsteps in Central district’s iconic Gage Street markets, where his character had a lively encounter with a chicken vendor. The street can also be seen in the background as Christian Bale talks with Morgan Freeman in The Dark Knight.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Hilton Towers – While the southwest entrance of Hilton Towers may seem unassuming, it’s actually the location of a breathtaking scene in 2005 Donnie Yen action film SPL: Sha Po Lang (titled Kill Zone in the United States). It’s this part of Tsim Sha Tsui East where villain Wong Po (Sammo Hung) demonstrates his influence by subduing a gang of violent criminals. It’s a visually striking scene and a location that is instantly recognisable for fans.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Oceanic Mansion, Quarry Bay – 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction was a globetrotting action extravaganza, as Mark Wahlberg found himself in the middle of an intergalactic robot war (complete with a number of very obvious product placements). The film’s climax takes place partly in Hong Kong, with one dramatic scene set around the unique Oceanic Mansion. While the buildings themselves are used in establishing shots, Wahlberg’s dramatic rooftop chase is actually filmed at the top of the IFeng Mansions in To Kwa Wan. Nevertheless, the former’s unmistakably colourful visage makes it easy to spot – and take a selfie with!

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Aberdeen Harbour – While the look of the surrounding city may have changed dramatically over the past 4 decades, Aberdeen Harbour has a place in movie history as one of the locations of Enter the Dragon, where Bruce Lee and his allies begin their journey to a mysterious island. The great man’s legacy was not officially recognised by Hong Kong authorities until 2005, when a statue was erected in Tsim Sha Tsui.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong Cultural Centre – Last year, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson did battle with terrorists in Skyscraper, an action-thriller set in Hong Kong – specifically at the bustling cultural centre where you can see the many arts and exhibition spaces, including a concert hall and grand theatre. The one thing you can’t see, however, is the skyscraper itself! The building in the film, The Pearl, is completely fictional and was digitally added to the scene, although its surroundings are very real.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Chungking Mansions – Residential building Chungking Mansions gained notoriety in the mid-’90s as one of the focal points of Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express, a memorable romantic drama that became a worldwide hit. The success of the film means that, 25 years on, the building actually looks a little better polished; after all, it has become something of a tourist spot for visiting fans of the movie. Nevertheless, it’s familiar enough to conjure up nostalgia!

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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The Mira Hong Kong, Tsim Tsa Tsui – There are many luxurious hotels in Hong Kong, but few with the same infamy as The Mira Hong Kong, which played host to Edward Snowden when he first announced that he possessed leaked NSA files in 2013. Oliver Stone’s hard-hitting biopic Snowden naturally used the hotel for filming, making the site of interest both to movie and modern history enthusiasts. Just remember to switch your phone off!

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Jackson Road – For those looking to recreate a piece of movie history, head to Jackson Road in Central, where a trench-coat-wearing Chow Yun-fat coolly drags on a cigarette in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow. The film established Hong Kong cinema worldwide, influencing both native film-makers and Americans such as Quentin Tarantino and rap group the Wu-Tang Clan. Chow Yun-fat’s star-making turn as Mark Lee became so popular that Hongkongers began referring to trench coats as ‘Brother Mark’s Coat’.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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North Point Waterfront – A pivotal scene in the 2018 remake of The Ghost in the Shell was shot on the Eastern District’s North Point Waterfront. However, expect the view to look slightly different from when Scarlett Johansson visited: the film-makers inserted a number of CGI embellishments to create a futuristic look. Other Hong Kong locations include the final scene, shot in Tsuen Wan Cemetery.

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Connaught Road Central – Another location that will have changed due to the fast-paced transformation of Hong Kong’s infrastructure, fans of John Woo’s 1992 film Hard Boiled can repeat Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s musical ride through Connaught Road Central, one of the more visually striking scenes in the film. We can’t guarantee you’ll feel like a movie assassin, but it is a fun way to observe the changes between Hong Kong’s past and present.

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Jumbo Floating Restaurant – The Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen is famous in its own right, but it has welcomed aboard a number of celebrities (Tom Cruise, David Bowie) and film crews, too. Most recently, Gwyneth Paltrow played a patron of the restaurant for Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion. The iconic eatery has also featured in Infernal Affairs II, hosted a future Bond in Pierce Brosnan’s ‘80s TV show Noble House, and even served as inspiration for a location in computer game Sleeping Dogs .

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Wing On Centre – Hong Kong legend Jackie Chan arguably enjoyed his biggest success with 1985 action film Police Story, which spawned numerous sequels. One of the film’s most talked-about sequences is set in the Wing On Centre, a high-rise office building and department store; it was at the latter that he performed multiple stunts and feats of daring that established him as one of the greatest action heroes who ever lived. The store in Sheung Wan is still there today, and is a must visit for any Chan fan – just expect a quieter visit than he had!

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Movie Capitals: On Location In Hong Kong.
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Tsuen Wan Drainage Tunnel – Okay, this may not be the fanciest place to end our list, but the unique structure in Tsuen Wan was interesting enough for the legendary Michael Mann to film a chase scene for 2015 thriller Blackhat, with Chris Hemsworth playing a hacker enlisted by the government to stop a catastrophe in the city. The film was a cult hit despite the poor box office, and die-hard fans of the Thor star can say they have gone to great lengths to feel near to their idol!

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