Also known as “san” (mountains)
in the jargon of construction. They can be categorized into the followings:
（1） Flush gable roof
Two
identical slopes are found in the front and at the back with only one main
ridge. （2） Overhanging gable roof
The appearance is more or less the same as the flush gable roof except the
slanting sides are longer and exceeds and gable walls
（3） Gable and hip roof
The
upper part is similar to one in the above-mentioned with the lower part
exceeds the eaves.The roof comprises of a main
ridge , 4 vertical ridges for the hip roof and 4 diagonal ridges forthe gable and hip roof. 4 slanting
sides are found in this category.
（4） Hip roof
Usually
used in palace with 4 slanting sides sloping downwards in a curvy shape.
The eaves exceed
the gable walls. There are
main ridge, 4 vertical ridges so this type of roof is also known as
“the five ridge roof”
（5） Pyramidal roof
Usually adopted in building pavilions. This kind of roof can be in circular,
square, hexagonal and
octagonal shapes. The four
slopes will join at one point at the top, which will be decorated with
a ball
or a pearl.
The Chinese style buildings
in Hong Kong mainly have flush, overhanging gable roof or the gable and
hip roof.
Round and flat tiles
are laid on the roof. Triangular drip tiles
are placed at the end of
each row for decoration. When rain flows through the flat tiles, a beautiful
water curtain
will be formed. End tiles
are used to cover the seams.
Several styles of ridges
are found in Chinese architecture. The common ones in Hong Kong are in
the shapes of
boat
,
geometric patterns
and rolling tip of the grass
.
