SkyscraperPage Forum

SkyscraperPage Forum (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/index.php)
-   City Discussions (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=24)
-   -   The Walled City of Kowloon (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55357)

MolsonExport Aug 9, 2006 2:42 PM

Kowloon Walled City Park
http://www.geocities.com/asiagallery...RIMG1303-s.jpg

http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Mon...numents/62.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...edCityPark.jpg

Kowloon Walled City Park

Kowloon Walled City Park, with the remnants of the South Gate in the foreground.The area is now located in today's Kowloon City District. It was built into Kowloon Walled City Park (九龍寨城公園), an elegant park preserving the heritage of the fabled Walled City, which is part of the Carpenter Road Park.

The design of the park is based on the Jiangnan garden style of the early Qing Dynasty. It is divided into eight landscape features, with the centerpiece being the Yamen, a three-hall structure fully restored in its Qing Dynasty appearance. The Yamen houses a photo exhibition and a few relics used or found in the Walled City. The eight parts of the park are:

The Yamen
The Old South Gate
Eight Floral Walks
The Garden of Four Seasons
The Garden of Chinese Zodiac
The Chess Garden - featuring four giant Chinese chess boards
The Mountain View Pavilion
Guibi and Fui Sing Pavilion
The yamen and the remnants of the South Gate of Kowloon Walled City are declared monuments of Hong Kong.

hk_ayu Aug 10, 2006 10:18 AM




Photos of such a large block of high-rise should be taken from faraway.
That's why all windows look tiny.

The idiot just focused at the middle part of buildings to give exaggerating effect.
He/she ignored the large parks or beautiful mountains/coasts next to those giant blocks.


Tai Po, a suburban town in Hong Kong (population: 300,000)
http://www.hk-place.com/pic.php?src=p105008

Another suburban town, Ma on Shan (population: 200,000)
http://www.hk-place.com/pic.php?src=p161003



In fact, you can't tell the difference with typical western houses when you are inside those high-rise apartments unless you look from outside.

People should also understand that 70% Hong Kong land is mountains under protection.
There are 23 country parks in such a small place.
As you can see most suburban towns are surrounded by mountains or sea.
High-rise huge blocks are the only way to contain 7 millions people.


Typical Hong Kong high-rise apartments are between 600sqft and 1000sqft with sitting room/dining room, 2-3 bedrooms, 1-2 toilets and 1 kitchen. Of course they are tiny in size but it can be quite luxury to live in.
New private estates usually contain their own clubhouse to provide swimming pools, sauna rooms, fitness centres, playground for kids, etc. Just like living in resort if you have spare time.

southtek Aug 13, 2006 2:13 AM

the old walled city looks positively apocalyptic. fantastic to look at, not so much if you had to live there every day of your life, i suppose...

i could look at pictures of HK all day, i think, so please keep them coming. btw, do the chungking mansions still exist in kowloon? i remember they had some of the scariest elevators i've ever seen.

hk_ayu Aug 15, 2006 1:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southtek
the old walled city looks positively apocalyptic. fantastic to look at, not so much if you had to live there every day of your life, i suppose...

i could look at pictures of HK all day, i think, so please keep them coming. btw, do the chungking mansions still exist in kowloon? i remember they had some of the scariest elevators i've ever seen.


The walled city has been pulled down for more than 10 years

Chungking(?) Mansion still exists in Tsim Sha Tsui
BTW, it's for Indians only.


To look at the daily life of HK,
it's really outdated to look at old buildings.

staff Aug 15, 2006 1:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hk_ayu
Chungking(?) Mansion still exists in Tsim Sha Tsui
BTW, it's for Indians only.

Hey, for Scandinavians as well! I've lived in the Chungking Mansions! :D

MolsonExport Sep 6, 2006 1:27 PM

http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/images...baraka0516.jpg
Quote:

Originally Posted by southtek
the old walled city looks positively apocalyptic. fantastic to look at, not so much if you had to live there every day of your life, i suppose...

i could look at pictures of HK all day, i think, so please keep them coming.

I am fascinated with the WCK...but pictures are difficult to come by. When I find them, I will post them here.

LSyd Sep 6, 2006 3:00 PM

you've found more pics of it than i ever have Molson. good work.

-

MolsonExport Nov 1, 2006 6:47 PM

http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVersion/images/KWC4.jpg
Tin Hau temple, built in 1951 -in the centre of the city, gradually became surrounded by buildings until it received not a ray of sunlight. A wire mesh above protected it from rubbish falling from above.

http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVers...ages/KWC-5.jpg
Communal water taps in Walled City.

http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVers...ages/KWC-2.jpg
Who ever said that there was no nature? Here is a forest (of antennae) on the roof of WCK.

http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVers...ages/KWC-3.jpg
A typical 'Street' in the Walled City of Kowloon. A tangled network of pipes and wiring dripped and hissed - above the city's dark, dank walkways.

http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVers...ages/KWC-6.jpg
Up on the roof, where the children can get fresh air.

MolsonExport Nov 1, 2006 6:55 PM

http://juh.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/27/1/92
Journal of Urban History Harter 27 (1): 92.
"Hong Kong’s Dirty Little Secret: Clearing the Walled City of Kowloon"


^for those academically-inclined, here is a great comprehensive piece on the Walled City of Kowloon. In my view, the Walled City of Kowloon was the most interesting slum, anywhere, ever.

MolsonExport Dec 7, 2006 3:17 PM

http://www.raingod.com/angus/Gallery...artments02.jpg
http://sjl-static1.sjl.youtube.com/vi/Pg9-lAmSADA/2.jpg

Video, inside of Kowloon Walled City:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YqGizvK-Fk

pdxtex Dec 7, 2006 6:32 PM

SARS anyone?

beesbees Dec 14, 2006 8:57 PM

That's amazing :o

So intriging.. I bet you could'VE wander round it for days and never see all of it.

MolsonExport Feb 5, 2007 5:55 PM

^Unfortunately, now we will never have the chance. There are some reports of a few urban explorers that went into the Walled City of Kowloon with camcorders, prior to the destruction. Perhaps it will turn up soon on YouTube.

MolsonExport Mar 6, 2007 2:13 PM

Long-lost photos:
http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/images...baraka0520.jpg

Inhabiting a block the size of the Tokyo Dome, Kowloon Walled City resembed a living, breathing creature, born from its inhabitants over its long lifespan. But the walled city was more than a physical conglomeration of buildings and people, it was an inadvertent symbol of the long struggle between China and Hong Kong, ruled by neither. It was an “in-between zone” whose remarkable existence today can best be comprehended through images, statistics and interviews.

By the early 1980s, Kowloon Walled City had an estimated population of 35,000. Being a lawless land, the city was notorious for its excess of brothels, casinos, opium dens, cocaine parlours, food courts serving dog meat, and secret factories. The Kowloon Walled City was also infamous for its ridiculously high number of unsanitary dentist clinics, since this was where unlicensed dentists could operate without prosecution.

Over time, both the British and the Chinese governments found the massive, anarchic city to be increasingly intolerable - despite the low reported crime rate. The quality of life in the city, sanitary conditions in particular, was far behind the rest of Hong Kong.

After the Joint Declaration in 1984, the PRC agreed with British authorities to demolish the City and resettle its inhabitants. The mutual decision to tear down the walled city was made in 1987

Reminiscent of the Walled City of Kowloon:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...g/3b908481.jpg

MolsonExport Apr 18, 2007 3:44 PM

http://features.cgsociety.org/galler...9385_large.jpg

The walled city of Kowloon meets Bladerunner in this crazy photoshop.

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...%3Den%26sa%3DN

vertex Apr 18, 2007 4:42 PM

Actually, that image is almost entirely 3d (3dsMax). The textures and post-production were probably in Photoshop. Great work!

http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/polycou...yscapePop4.jpg

Lost Island Apr 22, 2007 6:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport (Post 2424283)
http://www.tofu-magazine.net/newVers...ages/KWC-6.jpg
Up on the roof, where the children can get fresh air.

It must have been bad down below. She's still holding her nose.

MolsonExport May 2, 2007 5:28 PM

^first breath of fresh air ever, perhaps.

=dba=Ronin May 15, 2007 4:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport (Post 2143138)
CHECK THIS OUT!
an actual clip of the Kowloon Walled City, from the film Bloodsport:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KEo6ogAnoZ8&search=kowloon

As I was paging through this thread...the first thing i thought was, wasn't part of Bloodsport filmed at this place?!!!

MolsonExport May 15, 2007 3:06 PM

http://www.ehituskunst.ee/uploads/im...ina2_copy0.jpg

Some neat Walled City Statistics (http://www.ehituskunst.ee/en/12/4142...immel_interv):
Area 2,9 hectares
Population density: 11 380 inhabitants per hectare
Population 33000
Buildings ca 350
Floors: mostly 10, the highest 16
Businesses 718 I.e. small enterprises, cafes, shops
Medical institutions 161 Doctors and dentists

In 1968 the estimated number of drug addicts in KWC is 5000 people.

Area: 2,9 ha
Year Number of inhabitants Growth m²/per person

1947 2 000 14,5
1971 10 004 400% 2,9
Late 1980s 33 000 230% 0,88

In 1990, the population density of KWC was seven times that of the most densely populated part of Kowloon city, Mong Kok, and almost thirty times that of the most densely populated area in the Western world, Manhattan.

http://www.ehituskunst.ee/uploads/images/china1.jpg

1971 is a watershed in the history of KWC. That year the Hong Kong police participated in the handover of buildings in the possession of previous yamen to a Christian charity organisation. As always, Chinese offi cial protests were expected but on this occasion none were expressed. In 1984, as the end of the 99-year lease was approaching, China and the United Kingdom signed an agreement concerning the future of Hong Kong. In January 1987, a half - expected surprise occurred: the British and Chinese authorities issued a common declaration expressing their intentions to demolish the buildings of the Walled City. Simultaneously, offi cials were sent over to KWC to produce a census of all the inhabitants and any property which they would lose in the demolition process. It appeared as though both authorities were concerned only with safety and welfare.

The evacuation of the population was carried out without any major problems and the evacuees received quite reasonable compensations. The Walled City, already emptied of inhabitants, was offi cially closed in July 1992. The fi rst of three demolition stages began in April 1993.

The course of history was returned to its proper tracks. Of all the old buildings only the yamen was preserved; the area around the yamen was surrounded with a wall and became an archaeological park displaying only objects from aesthetically acceptable periods. The past 100 years in the history of the location and its very unusual community were erased from the memory of the place as if by a LOBOTOMY. The real story of KWC was REPULSIVE and had to be forgotten. It seemed that no one regretted the disappearance of the Walled City. The largest controlled explosive demolition was anticipated with some excitement. Still, this spectacle did not occur, as the complex was demolished by bulldozers in three stages. Crosssections of the complex were revealed for the fi rst and last time.

Vertical village
The existence of the multiplicity of traffi c routes, with their uncontrolled development, facilitated a more even distribution of social and business functions throughout the whole SECTION. A shop or a café need not be located on the ground floor. In the whole block there were just three lifts. Meanwhile, service facilities located at diff erent levels had distinct characters. The ground-floor shops and cafes served the general public, including visitors from outside the block. The service units of the higher floors often functioned as gathering places for locals. The boundary between a narrow street, often only 1-meter wide, and the surrounding business quarters was blurred. Most shops were separated from the street with metal grilles rather than a stonewall; during opening hours these grilles were lifted – thus a narrow street grew wider by integrating small shops and services into itself. These narrow passageways were still called avenues even though nothing of the kind had been seen in the Walled City for decades.

Life in the block took place under artificial lighting 24 hours a day, without a break, thus denying the biorhythms normally dictated by the cycle of day and night. Throughout the day, however, radical changes occurred in the use of the space: what used to be a café during the day became a mahjong den in the evening; corridors and stairways were not only transit routes but functioned also as an environment for play and for communication. This is why the sense of community which developed here was unusual in comparison with a typical high-rise. Often a place was turned into its opposite: a toy factory hiding a drug den; military fortifications become a tourist site; a refugee camp becomes the playground of criminal gangs; and the latter finally becomes a well-functioning community centre.


http://www.ehituskunst.ee/uploads/im...ina3_copy0.jpg
http://www.ehituskunst.ee/uploads/im...ina4_copy0.jpg


All times are GMT. The time now is 1:38 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.