Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building is a 113-metre (371 ft) tall, 28-floor building located within the former HMS Tamar naval base on Lung Wui Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong. It serves as the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison. The building is still popularly known by its old name as the Prince of Wales Building () and is located adjacent to Tamar. History. Constructed in 1979, the building was named the Prince of Wales Building. It housed the head office of the  Royal Navy stationed in Hong Kong until the territory's handover to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997 when it was made the head office of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison. In May 2000, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed the Military Installations Closed Areas (Amendment) Order 2000, which renamed the former "Prince of Wales Barracks" to "Central Barracks", and the Prince of Wales Building to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building. After the base became the Central Barracks, the old name of the building remained visible in large raised letters  along the bottom of the tower for several years. The building underwent a 20-month full renovation, completed in 2014, during which most of the troops were transferred to the Stonecutters Island base. Due to its distinctive shape, likened to a wineglass, the building stands out from the rest of the Admiralty waterfront buildings. Architects attribute the shape of the building to passive protection, its narrow stem with the protruding upper storeys, supposedly makes it difficult to climb or attack. It is also informally known as 'the upside-down Gin bottle' due to its shape resembling a bottle of Gordon 's Gin. The corner of the building at the podium level which faces east (towards Admiralty MTR station) used to be a chapel under British use of the barracks. There used to be a crucifix visible on the exterior—however, during external refurbishment (including replacing the 'Prince of Wales Building' inscription in English with its current name in Chinese), the cross was removed. People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong. The PLA maintains a number of garrisons in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In addition to the PLA Forces Hong Kong Building, there are notable garrisons at the Stonecutters  Island, and at Stanley Fort. Soldiers located at these three garrisons are considered to be the élite of the PLA. The soldiers are not permitted to leave their compounds, even during off-duty times to mingle with the local populace. As a restricted area, the PLA Forces Hong Kong Building is heavily guarded by very alert soldiers with automatic rifles.