HSBC’s iconic lions, Stephen and Stitt, back on public view after first phase of restoration works since New Year vandalism
- Full restoration will need to wait until British experts can fly to the city to complete the task, bank says
- The lions have guarded the entrance of HSBC headquarters in Central since 1935 and have only been taken off public view three times
HSBC’s iconic lion sculptures reappeared in public on Thursday for the first time in more than nine months, partially restored after they were damaged by protesters during the social unrest in Hong Kong.
Stephen and Stitt, as they are called, were unveiled outside the bank’s headquarters in a ceremony this morning attended by more than 100 staff, journalists and members of the public.
“Stephen and Stitt have watched over HSBC’s main building for 85 years. Through good times and bad, they have been an enduring part of Hong Kong’s story,” said Peter Wong, deputy chairman and chief executive of HSBC Asia-Pacific.
“Many customers, employees and the general public told us how much they missed the lions, so we decided to put them back on display following the first phase of restoration. When the work is complete, they will look as impressive as ever.”
Because of social distancing restrictions the ceremony, officiated by Wong and local chief executive Diana Cesar, was kept short and simple. A feng shui master, David Lung King-chuen, offered a blessing, wiping the bodies of the two statues with a red cloth and burning incense sticks while Wong and Cesar patted the heads, paws and tails of the lions.
Lung had advised HSBC on feng shui – the ancient Chinese tradition of aligning objects in their environment so as to create harmony – when it rebuilt the headquarters in the 1980s.