????來到香港太平山，乘坐一段陡峭的登山纜車后，就可以到達山頂，在這片獨一無二的山頂區域俯瞰香港迷人的天際線和維多利亞海港。在英國人統治香港的155年里，最初在太平山頂居住的都是外籍人士。1997年，香港主權回歸中國。如今太平山頂最新、最惹眼的建筑是香港本地房地產公司太古地產（Swire Properties）開發的豪宅項目——傲璇（Opus Hong Kong）。

????這棟螺旋式上升的12層大樓是世界著名建筑師法蘭克?蓋瑞在亞洲的首棟住宅建筑作品。11月14日，太古地產宣布，傲璇第9層一套6,683呎（621平方米）、可以俯瞰山景和維多利亞海港天際線全景的全層單位，日前以5,800多萬美元售出——折合每呎8,784美元——躋身全球以及香港最昂貴的住宅物業之一。8月份，第8層的全層單位以5,500多萬美元售出。在此之前，傲璇事實上被視為租賃性物業。首位租戶租的是一套帶花園和私家泳池的復式單位，未來三年月租金約11萬美元。【與此同時，房地產公司高緯環球（Cushman & Wakefield）11月14日發布的一項分析顯示，香港繁華的銅鑼灣購物區的零售物業租金已超過紐約市第五大道，成為全球租金最貴的地區。】

????蓋瑞在傲璇的外立面設計了蜿蜒的縱向支柱，仿佛隨風擺動的蘆葦。這一有機的設計意在向香港超乎想象的、豐富繁茂的自然環境致敬。香港不到426平方英里的土地上居住著約700萬居民，但整個城市已開發的土地面積占比不到1/4，約40%的土地都是公園和自然保護區。

????在香港，住在高樓大廈里很正常。由于分配的可開發土地有限，樓市供不應求，推高了房價；預計到年底，住宅價格將上漲15%。懷揣現金的內地買家到處搶購物業，加劇了香港和內地之間的緊張關系。筆者在香港逗留期間，導游告訴我，香港的商品和服務價格便宜，生活質量高，但大多數居民買不起房，不得不一輩子租房居住。

????香港政府最近推出了新的稅種，希望阻止這種趨勢進一步發展。10月26日，香港財政司司長宣布，2010年實施的、旨在抑制房價快速上漲的額外印花稅的適用期將從24個月延長至36個月，并上調懲罰性稅率。同時，對購買住宅者征收買家印花稅，非香港永久居民的買家稅率為15%。另外，據房地產咨詢公司萊坊（Knight Frank）稱，政府還宣布計劃未來3-4年供應65,000套新的住宅單位，每年供應約20,000套。要是都是蓋瑞設計的，該多好啊！

????下面是更多照片：

????A steep tram ride takes visitors up to the Peak, an exclusive mountaintop neighborhood that overlooks Hong Kong's stunning skyline and Victoria Harbor. The Peak was originally home to expats during Britain's 155-year occupation of Hong Kong, which ended with the 1997 handoff to China. Its newest and most notable addition is the Opus Hong Kong, an opulent development from HK-based Swire Properties.

????The 12-story twisting tower is world-renowned architect Frank Gehry's first residential building in Asia. Yesterday, Swire informed me that its ninth-floor, 6,683-square-foot unit with panoramic views of the both the surrounding forest and the harbor-side skyline recently sold for more than $58 million -- that's $8,784 per square foot -- making it one of the world's most expensive residential properties, and the most expensive in Hong Kong. In August, the eighth-floor unit sold for more than $55 million. The Opus was actually conceived of as a rental property, and the first tenant, who leased a double-level garden apartment with a private pool, is paying roughly $110,000 per month for the next three years. (Meanwhile, an analysis released yesterday by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield reports that retail rents on Hong Kong's glitzy Causeway Bay shopping strip just overtook New York's Fifth Avenue to become the priciest in the world.)

????Gehry designed the curved vertical struts on the building's exterior to resemble reeds swaying in the wind. The organic notes pay homage to Hong Kong's surprisingly lush landscape. Less than a quarter of the city, which houses some 7 million residents in just 426 square miles, is developed, with 40% of the area's total land dedicated to parks and nature reserves.

????High-rise living is the norm in Hong Kong. But with a finite footprint allotted to development, demand for housing is outpacing supply and driving up costs; residential prices are expected to rise by up to 15% by the end of the year. Cash-rich Chinese buyers are snapping up properties at a breakneck pace, fueling tensions between HK and the mainland. During my visit, my guide told me that while goods and services are cheap in Hong Kong and the quality of living high, most residents can't afford to buy property there and are forced to rent for life.

????The HK government recently implemented taxes to counter the trend. On October 26, the Financial Secretary announced that the Special Stamp Duty, a 2010 ordinance that discouraged quick flipping of residential properties, would be continued with higher penalty rates and the holding period extended from 24 to 36 months. A Buyer's Stamp Duty was also implemented on residential purchases, imposing a 15% tax on buyers who are not Hong Kong permanent residents. The government has also announced plans for 65,000 new housing units to come onto the market over the next three to four years, at a pace of about 20,000 apartments per year, according to property consulting firm Knight Frank. If only they were designed by Gehry.

????Here are some additional photos: