Kowloon Walled City Park

For most of the twentieth century this site held the Kowloon Walled City, a settlement of a few hectares that grew upward into a single interlocking mass of buildings housing tens of thousands of people, with alleys instead of streets, almost no daylight at ground level and services improvised by the residents; its density became internationally known. It was cleared in the early 1990s and the ground turned into a park opened in 1995, laid out in the manner of a Jiangnan garden of the Qing period, with pavilions, ponds and a chess garden. The yamen, the old administrative building at the centre, was kept and restored, and remains of the south gate and old cannons are displayed.

History

The site had been a military stronghold since the 15th century, and in the middle of the 19th century the Qing government built a walled enclave here beside Kowloon Bay, at first housing soldiers and their families. By the 1970s the population of the walled city had risen to 41,000; it was pulled down in the 1990s, some historic buildings were kept, and by 1995 the ground had become a park designed like a Jiangnan garden of the early Qing, its design awarded a diploma at the International Garden Exposition in Stuttgart in 1993 (Wikipedia, Kowloon Walled City Park).

What's there

• The restored yamen - the surviving administrative building at the centre.
• Excavated south gate remains - foundations and stones displayed in place.
• A Jiangnan-style garden - pavilions and ponds in Qing manner.
• A scale model of the old settlement - the density shown in miniature.

When to go

October to April; the garden is pleasant in cool weather and hot in summer. Two hours. Mornings are quiet apart from local residents exercising.

Before you go

Almost nothing of the original settlement survives; the park is a garden with a small exhibition. Visitors expecting to see the walled city are always disappointed. Interpretation is limited. It is out of the way for anyone without a specific interest.

Nearby

Kowloon City food streets are adjacent; Wong Tai Sin lies north-west.

Key facts