Situated on the north shore of Hong Kong island, directly east of Central, is the built-up area of Wanchai. In the 1950s and 1960s, Wanchai was known throughout East Asia as the rest and recreation place for US soldiers. Nowadays, however, the soldiers have gone and Wanchai is every bit as gentrified as the rest of Hong Kong. Although modernized swiftly, Wanchai retains its image as a rollicking paradise for sailors on shore leave. Today, its many bars, dance halls and hostess clubs cheerily co-exist with modern office plazas, high-tech arts venues and art galleries and a dazzling range of international restaurants.

Wanchai's most distinctive landmark is the magnificent Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center, probably the biggest and best of its kind in Asia. It is the place for trade fairs, exhibitions and international conventions, grabbing the spotlight as the venue for the ceremony to mark Hong Kong's change of sovereignty in 1997. When there are no events going on, you can visit the center's extraordinary interior, which includes the largest glass wall in the world, extending up five stories.

Hong Kong Arts Center, opened in 1977 has 15 floors of auditoria, rehearsal rooms, theatre workshops, and the offices of numerous cultural organizations. On any given night, the center may be presenting a Shakespearean play, a Japanese kabuki ensemble or a Humphrey Bogart and Marlene Dietrich film.

Central Plaza also vies for the top slot as the area's most prominent building. Located on the reclaimed land of north Wanchai, the glowing, golden cladding of the 78-storey skyscraper is visible from far away to the north in Kowloon.