It’s best not to get dizzy in this corner of the world. Here, more than half of the population lives far from the ground. It must be said that 60-story towers are not rare there.
If you are the type who wants a small pavilion with a garden for the children, this region on the other side of the world is clearly not for you. Here, the vast majority of the population lives in huge skyscrapers and half are even found above the 15th floor.
9,600 kilometers from Paris there is a region which has a unique particularity since it stands out as “the most vertical” in the world. The reason is simple: there are more than 9,000 skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, far surpassing New York or Dubai. It is also here that we find the most buildings measuring at least 100 meters in height. Enough to house its 7.4 million inhabitants.
Welcome to Hong Kong, this special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. According to data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) of Hong Kong (in charge of the population census), nearly 50% of people live above the 15th floor, in towers easily ranging from 30 to 60 floors!
It’s even more impressive than the famous Monster Building, this real estate complex located in Quarry Bay, made up of five physically connected buildings (‘only’ 18 floors), which accommodates nearly 10,000 residents and has become a spot for tourist photos on Instagram.
Considered one of the most expensive “cities” in the world to buy, Hong Kong nevertheless stands out for its capacity to house its population. Around 45% of the population lives in public social housing complexes but, very often, the apartments there are microscopic… less than 15 m²!
However, social housing in Hong Kong costs around 5 to 8 times less than on the private market (it costs at least 2,000 euros per month for a simple studio in the city center when renting privately). This is why the average waiting time to obtain one of these accommodations is extremely long, more than 5 years on average.
