St John’s Cathedral Hong Kong

Services have been held at this Anglican cathedral since it opened in 1849, with the exception of 1944, when the Japanese army used it as a social club. It suffered heavy damage during WWII, and the front doors were subsequently remade using timber salvaged from HMS Tamar, a British warship that guarded Victoria Harbour. You walk on sacred ground in more ways than one here: it is the only piece of freehold land in Hong Kong. Enter from Battery Path. The cathedral has many unusual features, including row upon row of ceiling fans and pew seating made of cane wicker. Note the stained-glass windows to the left after you enter, which show scenes of vernacular Hong Kong life, such as a fisherwoman holding a net. Note also the tattered regimental flags hanging from the ceiling in St Michael's Chapel; these were buried during WWII to hide them from the Japanese.