Noonday Gun

The Noonday Gun at Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island is a Hotchkiss three-pounder coastal cannon fired every day on the stroke of twelve. The tradition goes back to British colonial times: trading house Jardine Matheson was allegedly ordered to fire the daily shot as a penalty after one of its staff fired an unauthorised salute to greet a company taipan. The Jardines have kept up the duty ever since. Noel Coward immortalised it in his song Mad Dogs and Englishmen with the line about the Hong Kong midday gun. Visitors reach the small waterfront plot through an unmarked tunnel from the Excelsior hotel and can experience the bang at close range at noon.