Noon Day Gun

Owned by multinational company Jardine Matheson, the Noon Day Gun, made famous in the Noel Coward song Mad Dogs and Englishmen, is fired off by a Jardine employee at noon every day.

The gun is located on the waterfront in Causeway Bay, where Jardine used to have warehouses, known in these parts as godowns. The one-gun salute tradition is said to have started when a Royal Naval Officer who was new to Hong Kong became annoyed at the tendency of Jardine employees to fire off a gunshot when the head of the company sailed into port – gun salutes being reserved for military commanders only. As punishment, Jardine were required to fire a one-shot salute every day at noon, for perpetuity.

The company has kept to the deal and the Noon Day Gun has become a local tradition and attraction for visitors. Noel Coward even dropped by to fire it off once.