The Naming of Floors

In China, four is an unlucky number. So just like western builders of high rises who sometimes leave out the 13th floor, Chinese developers will often leave out the fourth floor. In fact, some developers will skip over any number that ends in four.

Recently, some developers in Hong Kong have taken even greater liberties in the naming of floors. It has gotten a little out-of-hand to the point that it has caused a minor backlash from the public, specifically the buyers of high-rise flats.

In one new building on the island, apartment dwellers can rent a flat on the 88th floor, which is pretty amazing since the building is only 35 stories tall. When it came to naming floors, the developer not only left out any number that ended in four, when they got to the top floor, they skipped from the mid-forties and named the top floor eighty-eight. Eight of course is a very auspicious number.

As silly and even irksome as the practice is getting, the Hong Kong legislature –to their credit- refuses to step in and use the power of law to force developers to stop this little bit of chicanery.

If nothing else, this gives people who write letters to the editor something to rant about.

-Jack

Mental Note: In Hong Kong, the floor at ground level is called “G.” The floor above that is called “1.”