Constructed in 1979, the building was named the
Prince of Wales Building. It housed the head office of the
Royal Navy stationed in Hong Kong until the
territory's handover from the
United Kingdom (
British colony) to the
People's Republic of China (
SAR of China) on 1 July 1997 when it was made the head office of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison. In May 2000, the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed the Military Installations Closed Areas (Amendment) Order 2000, which renamed the former
Prince of Wales Barracks to
Central Barracks, and the Prince of Wales Building to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building. After the base became the Central Barracks, the old name of the building remained visible in large raised letters along the bottom of the tower for several years. The building underwent a 20-month full renovation, completed in 2014, during which most of the troops were transferred to the
Stonecutters Island base. Due to its distinctive shape, likened to a wineglass, the building stands out from the rest of the Admiralty waterfront buildings. Architects attribute the shape of the building to passive protection, its narrow stem with the protruding upper storeys, supposedly makes it difficult to climb or attack. == People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong ==