Historic lion heads take pride of place at HSBC headquarters following plaza makeover
Granite sculptures guard south entrance to bank after being kept in storage since 1981
Each standing 1.4 metres tall and weighing 2.2 tonnes, the granite lions join the two famous bronze lions, "Stephen" and "Stitt", that have sat proudly at the ground-floor plaza for years.
While the bronze lions - often regarded as fung shui fittings that ward off evil spirits and bad luck for inhabitants of the premises - are at the Des Voeux Road Central entrance, the granite lion heads guard the south entrance facing Queen's Road Central.
The lion heads had originally been on the roof of the bank's previous headquarters after it was built in 1936. They went into a warehouse after HSBC started developing a new headquarters - at its current location - in 1981.
The plaza had been closed for renovation since September, with speculation this was over security concerns over the looming Occupy Central demonstrations.
The 79-day mass sit-ins for democracy eventually focused on Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.