Kowloon Walled City Park

“The [Kowloon] Walled City with its dank alleyways became a notorious nest of drug divans, criminal hide-outs, vice dens and even cheap, unlicensed dentists.” –Source: Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department

“The city was a phenomenon with 33,000 families and businesses living in more than 300 interconnected high-rise buildings, all constructed without contributions from a single architect.” Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139914/A-rare-insight-Kowloon-Walled-City.html#ixzz28cN2278s (Try to imagine 33,000 people and 300 buildings living in approximately 1.5 Temple Squares.)Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139914/A-rare-insight-Kowloon-Walled-City.html

Kowloon Walled City Park is a site we have been wanting to venture to for quite some time.  Cody has always been fascinated by the city’s history.  Rightfully so.  After visiting the park, and learning more about the story of the ungoverned Kowloon Walled City, I too am in awe of the place.

 

 

 

 

 

I’d like to share a synopsis of the captivating history of Kowloon Walled City, along with the photos from our visit to the gorgeously serene park that now stands in the city’s place. 

“Kowloon Walled City Park sits on the very site of the former Kowloon Walled City, remembered today as a haven of crime and debauchery.

 

In 1841, when Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain, Kowloon Walled City was already a garrison and was reinforced by the Chinese Government. The fort’s fate changed in 1898 when the New Territories were leased to Britain for 99 years. Although the walled city remained Chinese territory by treaty, the following year their troops and officials were forced to vacate. Behind them they left a power vacuum that was filled by criminals, and the garrison became a city within a city. 
Throughout the 20th century, fugitives and other criminal elements flocked to the lawless enclave. Beyond the reach of the law, the area mushroomed into a squalid maze of illegally constructed buildings, where everything from drug trafficking and prostitution to unlicensed dentistry flourished in a labyrinth of dank, dark alleyways.In 1987, with the agreement of China, the colonial government finally took control of the no-go area, resettled its inhabitants, and replaced the slum with a park. Today, the Chinese-style park preserves traces of the walled city, most notably its yamen, the imperial government administrative building. The Jiangnan garden–style of the park also offers visitors a chance to appreciate the beauty of nature in a place where the darker side of human nature once flourished.” -Source: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/culture-heritage/historical-sites/chinese/kowloon-walled-city-park.jsp#ixzz289MfEB40

The stark contrast between the corrupt and decrepit Kowloon Walled City and the now immaculately landscaped and peaceful Kowloon Walled City Park is almost inconceivable to me.  For more history on the Kowloon Walled City and unbelievable pictures from the time of its existence, see this website: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139914/A-rare-insight-Kowloon-Walled-City.html.