A colonial tradition dating back to the mid-1800s, the daily firing of this Hotchkiss 3-pounder naval gun was made famous by the Noël Coward song 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen' ('In Hong Kong, they strike a gong, and fire off a noonday gun/To reprimand each inmate who's in late'). The gun stands in a small garden opposite the Excelsior Hotel on the waterfront, where its noon-on-the-dot firing always draws a small crowd.
The Noonday Gun is tricky to find – it's accessible via a tunnel through the basement car park in the World Trade Centre, just west of the Excelsior Hotel. From the taxi rank in front of the hotel, look west for the door marked ‘Car Park Shroff, Marina Club & Noon Gun’.
