The 150th anniversary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) reached its pinnacle on Thursday at a party held at The Peninsula Hong Kong that included a series of seven giant helium balloons anchored onto the hotel’s façade. Originally incorporated on March 2, 1866, as The Hongkong Hotel Company, Limited, HSH was one of the first companies to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is currently the oldest registered company on the Hong Kong Companies Registry. For a century and a half, the compelling story of HSH has been closely tied to its city of origin, Hong Kong.
“Anniversaries are a time to pause and reflect, to recall the events that have shaped us, and the individuals whose legacies have played a beneficial role in Hong Kong’s success story,” declared The Honourable Sir Michael Kadoorie, chairman of HSH, in his opening address. “The future is built on the past, and the events that shaped our history also govern our current operations. Behind our international reputation lies our ethos of community responsibility and a belief in the importance of integrity and sustainability. In this anniversary year, our team reminds Hong Kong of its rich history, thereby hoping to enable the whole community to share in our heritage.”
With the HSH legacy encompassing a diverse portfolio of assets worth HK$45.3 billion, including 10 Peninsula Hotels around the world, The Peak Tram, The Peak Tower and The Repulse Bay Complex in Hong Kong, the display marked the first time in Hong Kong history that helium balloons of such a scale have been publicly displayed on a Grade I-listed heritage landmark. HSH originally commissioned eight giant balloons in the form of the company’s most iconic and recognizable assets.
Each balloon took 30 days to be designed, having been sewn, assembled, and hand-finished before being shipped to Hong Kong, including inflated renditions of The Peak Tram; The Peak Tower; The Repulse Bay Complex; The Peninsula’s Phantom II vintage Rolls-Royce; The Peninsula’s MD902 Helicopter; the HSH-themed Montgolfière-style balloon – named after the inventors of the world’s first passenger-carrying hot air balloon, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolier, and even a giant Peninsula Pageboy. The showcase will become a travelling exhibition to HSH properties around the world in 2017. Only The Peninsula Hong Kong-shaped balloon was not displayed during the gala, so as not to duplicate The Peninsula’s already iconic façade.
“We are the oldest registered company in Hong Kong – and we believe we are one of the oldest hotel groups in the world in continuous operation,” said Clement Kwok, Chief Executive Officer of HSH. “If you look our history, HSH always been a very adventurous and pioneering company. Building The Peninsula Hong Kong in Kowloon, which was essentially a backwater in those days, was a risk. The company took that risk, and it proved to be immensely successful. Even The Peak Tram was a very courageous venture at the time. It is due to that pioneering spirit that we now have these amazing assets in both Hong Kong and overseas. We are 150 years old, but we are a company that is still at a youthful stage in our development and growth strategy. We are still building for the future and to celebrate our anniversary, in particular, [we would like] to say thank you to the people of Hong Kong.”
The gala celebrations had, in fact, unofficially begun earlier in the day, with 150 youth volunteers from exemplary Hong Kong educational institutions including the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU); Vocational Training Council (VTC); Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), dressed in the crisp white uniforms of The Peninsula’s Pageboys and Pagegirls, and congregating on the hotel’s Helipad for a dramatic commemorative aerial photo opportunity that spelt the words “HSH 150” in human formation.
Showcasing a decadent menu of gastronomic delights developed by The Peninsula Hotels’ Group Executive Chef Florian Trento, with The Peninsula Hong Kong’s Executive Sous Chef Ludovic Douteau and their talented kitchen teams, guests indulged in copious amounts of caviar, canapés, and sumptuous dessert buffets, which were created by award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Frank Hasnoot and his expert team of bakers, pastry chefs and chocolatiers. The fruits of their meticulous labour included thousands of cream puffs, verrines of seasonal fruit and dessert tarts with the heady scents of tonka bean, chocolate, raspberry, lemon and hand-roasted nuts, delicate petit-fours, artisanal chocolates and sweetmeats, perfectly rounded off by over 225 kg of ice cream. At The Verandah, The Peninsula’s international buffet restaurant, a chocolate buffet blanketed with African-origin cocoa beans and stands carved out of 50 kg of solid chocolate played host to live waffle, churros, and crème brulée stations. Meanwhile, the sweets buffet overflowed with over 200 kg of assorted candy.
Throughout the hotel, a playful, visually-arresting abundance of balloons adorned The Peninsula Hong Kong’s iconic spaces, in addition to the seven majestic HSH giant helium balloons on the façade and at street level, with a raft of fascinating balloon facts related to the HSH 150th Anniversary commission.
In a touching tribute to his grandfather, Sir Elly Kadoorie, and to HSH’s resilient, ever-changing birthplace, Hong Kong; Sir Michael remarked: “During our long history, we have always combined the graciousness of the past with the most modern innovations of the day… In 1928, when Acting Governor Southorn delivered a speech at the opening of The Peninsula, he said: “The success of this hotel is not a thing of today or tomorrow. The inspiration which gave rise to this building is the inspiration of the future: that the greatness of Hong Kong is in the future and not in the past.” I find those prescient words are as inspiring now as I am sure they were then.
Sir Michael continued: “The Kadoorie family has always remained fully committed to the company and this will continue with the next generation as we continue to play a role in creating the future. To you, the people of Hong Kong, my sincere appreciation and thanks for your unfailing support throughout the years.”