Walled city of Kowloon

The walled city of Kowloon existed as an island of dense population and lawlessness in the heart of Hong Kong.

Evacuated and demolished in the early 90s, the city grew almost organically in the era between the 1890s and the 1940s. Square buildings folded up into one another as thousands of modifications were made, virtually none by architects or engineers, until hundreds of square meters were simply a kind of patchwork monolith. Corridors ran through the monolith, some of those being former streets (at the ground level, and often clogged up with trash), and some of those running through upper floors, practically between buildings. The streets were illuminated by fluorescent lights, as sunlight was rare except for the rooftops.

The city was described as a hotbed of criminal activities, the daily lives of its dwellers were largely organized by the residents themselves, rather than by the Triad. Being a lawless land, the city was notorious for its excess of brothels casinos, opium dens, and cocaine parlours, with food courts serving dog meat and secret factories. The Kowloon Walled City was also infamous for its high number of unsanitary dentist clinics, since this was where unlicensed dentists could operate without prosecution.

Despite it’s rough reputation most residents were not involved in any crime and lived peacefully within its walls. Many charities and religious groups are said to have helped to improve the lives of residents. Schools and other welfare were introduced to the district and numerous small factories and businesses thrived inside the Walled City. Other reports say that given the population density, crime was unusually low, but then this maybe a result of there being no central place to report crime to or a lax definition of what constitutes crime.

An expensive book titled City of Darkness documents life in Kowloon. Kowloon has also been featured in several films, the most familiar of which maybe Bloodsport.

Few other brief clips of the city seem available. More information is available through Blog Like You Give a Damn.