When authorities drew up a plan to make Hong Kong a hub for Asia's wine trade, they faced a big challenge: where to store the bottles in a city that was fast running out of space. So they went underground.

Officials presented World War II-era bunkers as potential sites, and then former diplomat Gregory De'eb and businessman Jim Thompson signed a lease on them in 2003, setting up Hong Kong's first commercial wine cellar lying 20 meters (66 feet) below ground.

Crown Wine Cellars can store more than 100,000 bottles, and also has a subterranean clubhouse.