*~ The lions of the HSBC ~*

HSBC ' s first lions were cast in bronze from models prepared by Henny Poole ARA in England .

It were installed outside the Bank's office in Shanghai in 1923 . Their nicknames - Stephen and Stitt  were come from A.G. Stephen ,

The Bank ' s Chief Manager from 1920 to 1924 .

*~The Design of the HSBC ~*

Since its founding in 1865, the site of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited's successive

headquarters buildings has remained the same. Viewed by the Bank as a long-term asset, the present building

was commissioned in 1980 and completed in November 1985. It was designed for the Bank's exclusive use by Sir Norman Foster and is

considered one of the finest and most innovative bank buildings in the world.

The project called upon all Foster's ingenuity. The Bank required a very much larger building but it had to fit on the

original site area; its interior layout needed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate new technology and the changing

needs of a fast- expanding organisation until well into the next century; and it had to be constructed quickly on a very confined site.

  *~ The building in figures ~*