This is the International Commerce Centre, which at 484 metres is the city’s tallest building and the 12th highest in the world. It was completed in 2010 and is built on top of Kowloon metro station. This is the extreme example of the local train operator’s “rail plus property” policy of generating revenue by constructing projects over its infrastructure.

Most of the tower is filled with offices, though the upper storeys contain a Ritz-Carlton hotel, and on the 100th floor there’s an indoor observation deck. When the air is clear this provides stupendous views of the city’s famous skyline, peaks and surrounding islands.

I was particularly taken with the scene to the East, where the harbour waters curve away into the distant South China Sea, a source of tension between China and her neighbours. It’s interesting to look down on the container port, a key contributor to the city’s wealth.

The overwhelming impression as you gaze over Kowloon is one of congestion, as numerous apartment blocks and other buildings stand jammed together. And the classic view of the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island, with the Peak in the background, is fabulous from the deck. Sunset is a good time to visit.

There’s the inevitable gift shop, as well as a café operated by the Ritz-Carlton. Of course when you’re on the 100th floor you’re a captive consumer, so prices are high – I paid 45 Hong Kong dollars – around $5.80, or £4.60 – for a cappuccino with a Sky100 logo in cocoa on the froth. The deck, which stretches right around the building, is available as a wedding venue. The floor above houses five fine-dining restaurants, including the two-Michelin-star Tenku RyuGin.

You access the high-speed lifts to the viewing level through the Elements mall, which even by the extravagant standards of Hong Kong high-end shopping is pretty glitzy. Before you ascend, you pass a green-screen photo set-up.

It’s difficult to get to grips with the details of the tower because of superstitious Hongkongers’ dislike of the number 4. The word “four” sounds similar to “death” in Mandarin, so to live on the fourth, fourteenth etc floor is seen as unlucky. As a result, most buildings don’t have these floor numbers – buttons in lifts go straight from 3 to 5, 23 to 25 etc. In the case of the International Commerce Centre, this means that though the tower was described by its developers as a 118-storey building, it actually has 108. This fear of 4 is known as tetraphobia.

At 8pm each night the city’s skyscrapers stage a dazzling multimedia light show called A Symphony of Lights, and the centre plays a prominent role. A total of 50,000 square metres on two sides of the building are covered in LED lights. The remarkable display they provide formerly held the Guinness World Record for the “largest light and sound show on a single building”, since taken by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

The night-time flamboyance is in contrast to the building’s appearance during the day. Apart from its height, it’s a rather austere structure – a square tower whose sides taper slightly towards its peak. On the top floor you’ll find OZONE, the world’s highest bar.

Across the water on Hong Kong Island is another tall building, the arguably more attractive Two International Finance Centre. At 415 metres it’s the city’s second highest tower, and the pair stand like sentinels guarding the entrance to the harbour.

Verdict: Stunning views, but the overall experience is a bit soulless. Could do with a little razzmatazz.

Top photo: Classic view of the Hong Kong Island skyline, with Two International Finance Centre in the middle, from the Sky100 deck.