Anarchy, crime, gangs—some of the most shared perceptions of Kowloon Walled City. Perceptions that only shed a light on few facets of this sophisticated neighborhood. Once the densest area in the infamously populous city, what’s been silenced is the key to anywhere in the world: its people. Everyday people just like you and me.
Kowloon Walled City started off as a coastal fort overlooking the harbor. In 1847, five years after Hong Kong Island was ceded to the invading Brits, the Qing government thought it necessary to fortify the facility, a gesture to reinforce presence against Victoria City across the water. As the colonizer extended their control to Kowloon peninsula and the New Territories in 1898, the Walled City remained an exclave of the soon-doomed Qing empire, untouched by British regulations. When the last dynasty fell in 1912, the Walled City was de jure under British rule but the government never really imposed administration onto it. The succeeding Republic of China probably couldn’t care less either, and this place began to collapse into a political black hole.
Several attempts to demolish the unruly neighborhood in the coming few decades had all met dead ends due to residents’ protests. Since then the colonial government sort of gave up on this place. With an influx of Chinese descents into the Walled City after WWII, high-rise, most of the time unauthorized and ill-founded, buildings began to show up on top of each other; alienated individuals such as triad gangs, drug addicts, and unlicensed doctors found it a haven. A government survey in 1987 estimated that around 33,000 inhabitants within the 0.026 square kilometer enclave, while some suggested the figure should be 50,000.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City
The slum had been wiped out before I was born. I, just like you, could only learn about the notorious ghetto through online sources and the book City of darkness: life in Kowloon Walled City (Greg Girard & Ian Lambot, 1993), a collection of photographs and interviews of over 30 deep-rooted residents. Some records do perpetuate the stereotypes outsiders have—worn, tangled electric wires dangling in a back alley; a drug addict injecting a syringe of substance into his thigh. Yet more often it’s simply a snapshot of ordinary people struggling to live a humble, dignified life, as well as their cry in the face of eviction and insecurity thereof. To quote an interviewee from the book: “it was a very complex place, difficult to generalise about, a place that seemed frightening but where most people continued to lead normal lives. A place just like the rest of Hong Kong.” (p.120)
In the name of revitalization and urban development, sacrificed are the stories of living beings just like any of us. The stories of dozens of thousands of people have been reduced to a forged park with some so-called-artifact canons and columns, and we are led to believe it an accurate translation of the past. Next time you visit the park, beside taking in what you see in front of you, I hope you’d try to take some time to ponder what is untold about this place.
Information of the Kowloon Walled City Park are as follows:
Kowloon Walled City Park (九龍寨城公園)
Address: Tung Tsing Road, Kowloon City, Kowloon
Opening hours:
MON 06:30 – 23:00
TUE 06:30 – 23:00
WED 06:30 – 23:00
THU 06:30 – 23:00
FRI 06:30 – 23:00
SAT 06:30 – 23:00
SUN 06:30 – 23:00
Recommended Time to Visit: 10:00-18:00
Reminder: Exhibition area is closed on Wednesdays
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