Kowloon Walled City

Military outpost and Lung Tsun Pavilion (Pavilion for Greeting Officials) of Kowloon Walled City in 1898|alt=The front entrance of a fort with mountains in the background. The history of the walled city can be traced back to the Song dynasty (960–1279), when a military outpost was set up to manage the salt trade in the area. Little took place for hundreds of years afterward, although 30 guards were stationed there in 1668. The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory of 1898 handed additional parts of Hong Kong (the New Territories) to Britain for 99 years, but excluded the walled city, which at the time had a population of roughly 700. China was allowed to continue to keep officials there as long as they did not interfere with the defence of British Hong Kong. The following year, Hong Kong governor Henry Blake suspected that the viceroy of Canton was using troops to aid resistance to the new arrangements. On 14 April 1899, British forces attacked the walled city, only to find the viceroy's soldiers gone, leaving behind only the mandarin and 150 residents. Though the British claimed ownership of the walled city, they did little with it over the following few decades. The Holy Trinity Church established an old people's home in the old yamen as well as a school and an almshouse in other former offices. Aside from such institutions, however, the walled city became a mere curiosity for British colonials and tourists to visit; it was labelled as "Chinese Town" in a 1915 map. In 1933, Hong Kong authorities announced plans to demolish most of the decaying walled city's buildings, compensating the 436 squatters that lived there with new homes. That same year, the Nationalist Chinese government protested, claiming jurisdiction over the city. The Nationalist Chinese government continued to make claims on its jurisdiction throughout 1935, 1936, and the first half of 1937, until the war between China and Japan started. By 1940, only the yamen, the school, and one house remained. During the World War II occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese occupying forces demolished the city wall and used the stone to expand the nearby Kai Tak Airport. Refugees fleeing the Chinese Civil War post-1945 poured into Hong Kong, and 2,000 squatters occupied the walled city by 1947. After an attempt to drive them out in 1948, the British adopted a "hands-off" policy in most matters concerning the walled city. It was not until 1973 and 1974, when a series of more than 3,500 police raids resulted in over 2,500 arrests and over of drugs seized, that the triads' power began to wane. With public support, particularly from younger residents, the continued raids gradually eroded drug use and violent crime. In 1983, the district police commander declared the walled city's crime rate to be under control. with over 33,000 people Although the walled city was for many years a hotbed of criminal activity, most residents were not involved in any crime and lived peacefully within its walls. Numerous small factories and businesses thrived inside the walled city, and some residents formed groups to organise and improve daily life there. The government distributed some () in compensation to the estimated 33,000 residents and businesses in a plan devised by a special committee of the Hong Kong Housing Authority. ==The city before demolition==

Layout and architecture The walled city was located in an area of Kowloon that became known as Kowloon City. In spite of its transformation from a fort into an urban enclave, the walled city retained the same basic layout. The original fort was built on a slope A thorough government survey in 1987 gave a clearer picture: an estimated 33,000 people resided within the walled city. Based on this survey, the walled city had a population density of approximately in 1987, Names in Kowloon Walled City were mostly Cantonese. Culture In response to difficult living conditions, residents formed a tightly knit community, helping one another endure various hardships. Within families, wives often did housekeeping, while grandmothers cared for their grandchildren and other children from surrounding households. The city's rooftops were important gathering places, especially for residents who lived on upper floors. Parents used them to relax, and children would play or do homework there after school. The yamen in the heart of the city was also a major social centre, a place for residents to talk, have tea or watch television, and to take classes such as calligraphy. The Old People's Centre also held religious meetings for Christians and others. Other religious institutions included the Fuk Tak and Tin Hau temples, which were used for a combination of Buddhist, Taoist, and animist practices. ==Current status as park==

Design and construction The area where the walled city once stood is now Kowloon Walled City Park, adjacent to Carpenter Road Park. Construction of the park cost a total of . Declared monuments building with one of the original cannons|alt=The front entrance of a building labelled "Almshouse" with a cannon in front of it. The Antiquities and Monuments Office conducted archaeological examinations as the walled city was being demolished, and several cultural remains were discovered. Crime and corruption were common; the police were known to co-operate with the triads operating in the city. During the 1970s greater police presence reduced crime and the city became home to those seeking to avoid business regulation and taxes. The city has begun to be portrayed with a romantic dystopian identity, and many forms of modern media have borrowed the city's culture in their works. Literature A few of the people who spent time in Kowloon Walled City have written accounts of their experiences. Evangelist Jackie Pullinger wrote a 1989 memoir, Crack in the Wall, about her involvement in treating drug addicts within the walled city. Robert Ludlum's novel The Bourne Supremacy uses the walled city as one of its settings. Films and television The 1982 Shaw Brothers film Brothers from the Walled City is set in Kowloon Walled City. The 1984 gangster film Long Arm of the Law features the walled city as a refuge for gang members before they are gunned down by police. The 2024 Hong Kong action crime film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, an adaptation of the manhua City of Darkness by Andy Seto, sets its location and plot premise in Kowloon Walled City during the 1980s. In The Legend of Korra, it served as the aesthetic basis for representing the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. Anime and manga In the manga Crying Freeman, the titular character's wife travels to the walled city to master her swordsmanship and control a cursed sword. The 2022 video game Stray's environment is influenced by the walled city as well. Buildings and venues , a former Japanese game arcade with a Kowloon Walled City theme A partial recreation of Kowloon Walled City existed in the Warehouse Kawasaki, an amusement arcade that operated from 2009 to 2019 in the Japanese suburb of Kawasaki, Kanagawa. The atmosphere of the walled city was reflected in the arcade's narrow corridors, electrical wires, pipes, postboxes, sign boards, neon lights, frayed posters, and various other small touches. A livehouse inspired by the Walled City opened its doors in Shibuya, Tokyo in December 2021. Known as the Shibuya Kinmirai Kaikan (), the venue hired Hong Kong artists to spray paint Cantonese graffiti on its walls to give an air of authenticity along with neon lights and posters. The Chinese catering brand Wenheyou runs multi-storey retro-themed restaurant buildings in Changsha and Shenzhen that have been likened to the Kowloon Walled City, with some media outlets calling them either inspired by or even "1:1 recreations" of the city. A branch existed in Guangzhou until it closed in February 2025. ==See also==