The organizational structure of Jardines has changed almost totally, but the members of the family of Dr. William Jardine still have significant influence in the firm.

The organizational structure of Jardines has changed almost totally, but the members of the family of Dr. William Jardine still control the firm through a complex cross-shareholding structure, several allied shareholders and a secretive 1947 Trust.

Mr. Jardines has established the National Open Source Enterprise and authored Intelligence Community Directive 301.

He has published Historia argentina, Vidas de santos, Trabajos manuales, Esperanto, La velocidad de las cosas, Mantra and Jardines de Kensington and El fondo del cielo.

Initially trading in opium, tea and cotton, Jardines soon diversified into other areas including insurance, shipping and railways.

During the 1970s Jardines also expanded their insurance interests with acquisitions in the United Kingdom and the United States laying the groundwork for the foundation of Jardine Insurance Brokers.

Jardines today comprises a group of companies with extensive operations across Asia, and through some of its businesses, the world.

While the leadership of Jardines is Scottish, the firm is international in its dealings.

* Mail sent to Jardines requires no address — just the name is enough to ensure its delivery.

In 1988, instigated by Brian Powers, the first American taipan of Jardines, the entire corporate structure of Jardine, Matheson & Co., including all its allied companies, were restructured so that a holding company based in London and controlled by the Keswick family would have overall policy and strategic control of all Jardine Matheson Group companies.

Jardines ' main godowns and offices were located at East Point, and its private militia would fire a gun salute to welcome a Jardines tai-pans ' arrival by sea.

The subsequent First Opium War led to the Treaty of Nanking which allowed Jardines to expand from Canton to Hong Kong and Mainland China.

The northeastern shore is lined by the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, which includes Jardines del Rey and is composed of approximately 2, 517 cays and islands.

After British forces regained Hong Kong in 1945, the Royal Navy provided Jardines with a new six-pound gun with which to continue the tradition of the noon-day gun.

The guard rings a bell to signal the end of the fore-noon watch, a practice which dates from the time when Jardines ' main offices and warehouses were located at East Point.

It is accessed from a tunnel passing under Gloucester Road from the basement car park in The Excelsior hotel, which is operated by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, a Jardines subsidiary.

Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (, ) often referred to as Jardines, is a multinational corporation incorporated in Bermuda and based in Hong Kong.

With roots that can be traced back to the opium trade, today, Jardines is a Fortune Global 500 company that consists of Jardine Pacific, Jardine Motors Group, Jardine Strategic, Dairy Farm, Hongkong Land, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Jardine Cycle & Carriage and Astra International.

Jardines is controlled by the Keswick family, who are direct descendants of William Jardine's sister Jean through the marriage of her daughter to Thomas Keswick, father of William Keswick, an early Tai-pan of the firm.

The staff of Jardines ( 239, 000 employees as of January 2007 ) is predominantly Asian, with senior management levels composed of a mixture of British, Chinese, Indonesians, Europeans, Australians and Americans.

* Jardines ' have a strict policy of not buying / investing in new companies as it is said to be against William Jardine's wishes.

Jardines is also active in China, North America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and parts of Africa.

In 2008, Mr. Jardines returned to the private sector and was succeeded by Dan Butler who is ADDNI / OS and previously Mr. Jardines ' Senior Advisor for Policy.

The largest port on the bay is Manzanillo, ad to the north-west, the gulf is bordered by the Jardines de la Reina archipellago.

The Buen Retiro Park ( Jardines del Buen Retiro or Parque del Buen Retiro, literally " Gardens " or " Park of the Pleasant Retreat ," or simply El Retiro ) is the one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain.

Although British rule ended in Hong Kong in 1997, the tradition of the noonday gun is continued by Jardines.

Other than noon, the gun is also fired by a Jardines official at midnight every New Year's Day to celebrate the new year.

It is owned by Hongkong Land Limited, a subsidiary of Jardines.

The original building was sold by Jardines during the land acquisition exercise of the Landmark complex in Central and 20 Pedder Street is now occupied by the Wheelock House.

While listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange, the vast majority of Jardines shares are traded in Singapore.

On January 6, 1543, several small islands on the same latitude were seen, and named them Los Jardines ( The Gardens ).

References are made to Jardine Matheson | Jardines on the gun's descriptory plaque

Wilmer Alicea ( Baby Rasta ) was at the Jardines de Country Club recording studio working on a new album when he and two other men were shot by unidentified gunmen before dawn.

James Matheson returned to England to fill up the Parliament seat left vacant by Jardine and to head up the firm Matheson & Co., previously known as Magniac, Jardine & Co., in London, a merchant bank and Jardines ' agent in England.

To the north are the Jardines de Sabatini ( Sabatini Gardens ), named after one of the architects of the palace.

Li, who bought nearly 20 % of the company at that time the largest shareholding in the company, agreed to sell his shares to Hongkong Land, a sister company of Jardines, at a premium.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Jardines built cotton mills, a press packing plant and a brewery in Shanghai while expanding into Africa, America and Australia.

These include a number of Jardines ’ long-standing businesses such as Jardine Engineering Corporation ( JEC ), Jardine Shipping Services, Jardine Aviation Services, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals, Jardine Schindler and Gammon Construction as well as more contemporary interests that reflect the demands of Asian consumers ; among them Pizza Hut restaurants in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam and Jardine OneSolution IT services.

* Jardines ' history was the inspiration for a series of novels written by James Clavell, including Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, and Noble House.

* Jardines installed the first elevator in China in the northern city of Tianjin.

These islands, " Los Jardines ," could be Eniwetok or Bikini Atoll.

In 1841, Jardines had 19 intercontinental clipper ships, compared to close rival Dent and Company with 13.

Jardines also had hundreds of small ships, lorchas and small smuggling crafts for coastal and upriver smuggling.

His other nephews David, Joseph, Robert and Andrew Jardine, all sons of Jardine's older brother David, continued to assist James Matheson in running Jardines.

Notable Jardines Managing Directors or Tai-pans included Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet, David Jardine, Robert Jardine, William Keswick, James Johnstone Keswick, Ben Beith, David Landale, Sir John Buchanan-Jardine, Sir William Johnstone " Tony " Keswick, Sir Hugh Barton, Sir Michael Herries, Sir John Keswick, Sir Henry Keswick, Simon Keswick and Alasdair Morrison.