Everything about Kowloon totally explained
Kowloon refers to an urban area in
Hong Kong made up of
Kowloon Peninsula and
New Kowloon, bordered by the
Lei Yue Mun strait in the east,
Mei Foo Sun Chuen and
Stonecutter's Island in the west,
Tate's Cairn and
Lion Rock in the north, and
Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a
population of 2,019,533 and its population density was 43,033/km² in
2006. The peninsula's area is approximately 47 km² or 18.1 mi². Together with
Hong Kong Island, it contains 48% of Hong Kong's total population.
The more accurate transcription
Kau Lung or
Kau-lung was often used in derived place names before
World War II, for example
Kau-lung Bay instead of
Kowloon Bay.
Location
Kowloon is located north of
Hong Kong Island and south of the mainland part of the
New Territories.
History
The name Kowloon came from the
nine dragons represented by eight peaks and a Chinese emperor:
Kowloon Peak,
Tung Shan,
Tate's Cairn,
Temple Hill,
Unicorn Ridge,
Lion Rock,
Beacon Hill,
Crow's Nest and
Emperor Bing
The part of Kowloon south of
Boundary Street, together with
Stonecutters Island, was ceded by
Qing China to the
United Kingdom under the
Convention of Peking of
1860. For many years the area remained largely undeveloped, used by the British mainly for
tiger-hunting expeditions.
The part of Kowloon north of Boundary Street (
New Kowloon) was leased by the British
as part of the New Territories in
1898 for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is the Kowloon City, which refers to an
area, where the
Kowloon Walled City used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in
1993. The same area was called 官富場 (
Pinyin:
Guanfuchang) during the
Song Dynasty.
In modern day conversations, however,
New Kowloon is often not regarded as part of the
New Territories, but as an integral part of the Kowloon urban area on both sides of Boundary Street. For rates tax purposes, New Kowloon isn't considered part of Kowloon. Properties in New Kowloon are subjected to pay the land leases as those in the New Territories.
Large-scale development of Kowloon began in the early
20th century, with the construction of the
Kowloon-Canton Railway and the
Kowloon Wharf.
Due to Kowloon's close proximity to
Kai Tak Airport, building constructions were limited by flight paths. Compared to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon resulted architecturally in much lower skyline.
After
World War II Kowloon became extremely congested when
slums for
refugees from the newly established
People's Republic of China gave way to
public housing estates, mixed with private residential, commercial and industrial areas.
West Kowloon was once home to a dockyard for the
Royal Navy and is now used as a typhoon shelter.
On
July 1,
1997, both parts of Kowloon were transferred to the
People's Republic of China along with the rest of Hong Kong.
Administration
It comprises the following
districts:
Politics
Kowloon covers two geographical constituencies for the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong:
Kowloon East includes Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong
Kowloon West includes Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon CityFurther Information
Get more info on 'Kowloon'.
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