The life and death of an impossible city kickstarter. Kowloon walled city hong kong travel guide big foot tour. Life in kowloon walled city, the selfsustaining city of. Every available nook and cranny was inhabited, while the connecting alleys, stairways and corridors were reduced to an. At its peak, the kowloon walled city was home to 33,000 people in. At the age of 22 she moved to hong kong and began to reach out to the people of the walled city.
Kowloon walled city park opened in december 1995 and occupies the area of the former walled city. I wondered in my head if this was the governments best way to tell the story of kowloon walled city. Kowloon walled city was the densest place in the world, ever. Since the completion of the project and this interview, city of darkness revisited has gone to the printer, and 480 copies have been made. Greg girard kowloon walled city was 119 times as dense as new york city. Life in kowloon walled city, published in 1993, left off.
Designed and edited by greg girard and ian lambot the team behind city of darkness. Kowloon walled city park a beautiful little park to visit in hong kong, with its pavillions, ponds and flowers. Were playing most or all of our off days, including three uk shows with town portal and wren. Hong kongs kowloon walled city was the densest place on the planet before it was torn down 20 years ago. Hong kong, november 12, 20 in a roundtable discussion in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the kowloon walled citys demolition, the panel revisited the sites history, its unique spatial development and its legacy for people today, moderated by cole roskam, assistant professor, department of architecture, university of hong kong the discussion started with sharing by reverend. Though demolished 20 years ago, fascination in kowloon walled city just continues to grow, fired in part by the many urban legends that forever swirl around this extraordinary community. Kowloon walled city is a 4piece noise rock band from san francisco, formed in 2007. Depending on who you ask, it was a bladerunneresque slum or a poor, but. In this way, british slandered the walled city as a way to legitimate the colonial. Kowloon walled city revisited by billy kung more than two decades have passed since the book city of darkness. The kowloon walled city was a singular hong kong phenomenon. A historical accident of colonial hong kong, it existed in a lawless vacuum until it became an embarrassment for britain.
When kowloon walled city was demolished in 1994, its 300 interconnected buildings were home to 50,000 people. I may be wrong on this but i remember the series well and cannot recall any overt reference or depiction of the walled city. Heres what western accounts of the kowloon walled city. So heres 11 facts about the worlds most densely populated place. Kowloon walled city was the most densely populated place on. Her ministry started with only a handful of people but has grown steadily over the last fifty years. On a site measuring roughly 200 by 100 metres were squeezed some 350 buildings, rising 14 storeys or more and so tightly packed there was rarely space between them. Once the densest place on earth, the colourful, mazelike hotbed of of crime, grime, commerce and hope was torn down 20 years ago. Sep 06, 2016 documentary filmed in 1988 about the kowloon walled city by an austrian camera team, with english subtitles. Kowloon walled city in hong kong was 119 times as dense as.
The movie crime story starring jackie chan was partly made in the deserted walled city. Girard and lambot spent four years exploring the notorious walled city of kowloon hong kong before it\ s final clearance in 1992. A few steps away was a small exhibition hall that shared the history and daily lives of residents of the walled city. The production of space kowloon walled city documentary 2010. Stephens society, which is involved in drug rehabilitation in. Click here for a brief visual history of kowloon walled city. The closest thing to the walled city is an enormous recreation of the walled city in a gaming arcade. With over 320 photographs, 32 extended interviews, and essays on the citys history and character, this reprint is not only an informative glimpse of a now vanished landmark but a sensitive and penetrating portrait of a unique community. Life in kowloon walled city a photobook by greg girard and ian lambot. The kowloon walled city in hong kong looks like a beehive, with cramped quarters stacked haphazardly on top of one another.
This documentary tracks its colorful legacy and brings the place alive 20 years later. A wall street journal documentary tracks the kowloon walled citys colorful legacy 20 years after its demolition. Greg girard between the 1950s and mid1990s, tens of thousands of immigrants constructed a towering community 12 stories high across a 6. No mission from the game takes place within the walled city itself. Life in kowloon walled city had first been published in april 1993, a month after demolitions began to wipe away the infamous walled city. By 1990, the walled city contained 50,000 residents.
The kowloon walled city was a city within a city, which is not unlike the situation of hong kong after the handover, she said. The collection below focuses more on the exterior with some early photographs and a few rare aerial shots. Kowloon walled city was an ungoverned, densely populated settlement in kowloon city, hong. Today, its the kowloon walled city park, a tranquil. Some historical artefacts from the walled city, including its yamen building and remnants of its south gate, have been preserved there. Today, its the kowloon walled city park, a tranquil place modeled on traditional gardens of the early qing dynasty. A walled neighborhood called the narrows in the 2005 film batman begins was based on kowloon walled city. Over two decades since hong kongs infamous kowloon city was demolished, we dug into the history and modern age of what was once the. This multimedia project by the wall street journal is an incredible way to explore the rich stories and dark streets of the legendary hong kong settlement. The wall of the kowloon walled city was originally used to set up a fort. In this wall street journal interactive, you can take a trip through the city, explore its history and hear from the people who lived there. Image of kowloon walled city, just in case youre wondering why in the world did their. A documentary on the walled city chronicled this complexity firsthand.
After the japanese invasion of hong kong during the second world war, china reclaimed the rights to kowloon walled city, an exmilitary fort. Updated and expanded new volume, picking up where city of darkness. After an arduous eviction process, demolition began in march 1993 and was completed in april 1994. But theres a lot more to the story behind the walled city. The canadian photographers spent 5 years shooting in the kowloon walled city before it was demolished in the early nineties 33,000 people living in over 300 interconnected highrise buildings, built without. Its population increased dramatically following the japanese occupation of hong kong during world war ii. Documentary filmed in 1988 about the kowloon walled city by an austrian camera team, with english subtitles. Originally a military fort, the walled city saw its population rise dramatically during the second world war. I came across some pictures of the kowloon walled city and was very interested. The kowloon walled city in hong kong was once the densest place on earth, a virtually lawless labyrinth of crime, grime, commerce and hope.
Jan 30, 2020 image of kowloon walled city, just in case youre wondering why in the world did their forefathers named the place kowloon, let us take a journey back some few hundred years ago. Gambling on the richter scale split 7 with batillus. Apr 18, 20 the kowloon walled city was like a glitch in the urban fabric of hong kong. Last week, the wall street journal released a new 15minute documentary about the notorious kowloon walled city, which was torn down by the colonial government in the 1990s. Images of kowloon walled city from outside and above. The city is even a level in the video game call of duty. Oct 03, 2016 kowloon walled city i have mentioned before that lovat, the megalopolis central in my bell forging cycle, was heavily influenced by kowloon walled city. Kowloon walled city was an ungoverned, densely populated settlement in kowloon city, hong kong.
Girard and lambot spent four years exploring the notorious walled city of kowloon hong kong, before its final clearance in 1992. Inside hong kongs lawless walled city the most crowded. A wall street journal documentary tracks its colorful legacy and. Was really interesting to learn about its history, once being a self governed high rise shanty town houisng over 41,000 people, before its demolition in 1993. Kowloon walled city was named after a denselypopulated, autonomous region of hong kong known for its brothels, casinos and opium dens. Greg girard between the 1950s and mid1990s, tens of thousands of immigrants constructed a towering community 12 stories high across a. Kowloon walled city was packed with at least 50,000 inhabitants in 6.
Mar 23, 2018 the kowloon walled city was a city within a city, which is not unlike the situation of hong kong after the handover, she said. The kowloon walled city park contains floral walks, a chess garden, and an area for weddings and zero residencies. The images and pictures behind kowloon are as fascinating as they are heartbreaking and really shows the adaptability of humanity. Infamous for drugs and prostitution, it was also home to factories, shops, restaurants. Then i saw a model, made to scale, which depicted the old kowloon walled city before it was demolished in year 1994. But ive often thought of the kowloon walled city and a missed opportunity to 1 see the old tenement buildings, 2 watch the demolition, and 3 visit the new park. Most traces of the city are gone, though there is a model of the city cast in bronze. In the beginning it was just a small city but through time people started building more and more on top of the existing buildings to the point where it just became one building. Its gone now, but at its peak 33,000 people lived in its 6. Other kowloon walled city posts on the blog art inspired by kowloon walled city. Saw yesterdays submission about that japanese arcade and remembered i had this. Kowloon walled city kowloon served as a great source of inspiration for the megalopolis of lovat when i was working on stars.
Kowloon walled city, once the most crowded place on. Aug 31, 1993 girard and lambot spent four years exploring the notorious walled city of kowloon hong kong, before its final clearance in 1992. See more ideas about kowloon walled city, walled city and city. Click for art inspired by kowloon walled city or for rare shots of inside the walled city. Rare maps show life in hong kongs vicefilled walled city. Stunning photos of hong kongs kowloon walled city show. I took it upon myself to resub the original video as best as possible, the original. Kowloon walled city was a labyrinth devoid of road systems, basic sanitations. Where can i visit something similar to kowloon walled city. Are there documentary books talking about the kowloon. It was featured in the nonverbal film baraka and plays a cameo role in bloodsport. Heres what western accounts of the kowloon walled city dont tell. Aug 21, 2019 the wall of the kowloon walled city was originally used to set up a fort.
In case someone else wants to check if they get different results who knows, maybe its a bug in the flash version of the downloader, which the site forced on me since i dont have a browser it trusts with the html5 stuff. Kowloon walled city documentary in german with english subtitle. Courtesy of city of darkness revisited this unique society and its complete neglect by the rest of hong kong was born of the equally unique political conditions of the kowloon site. Apr 20, 20 after the japanese invasion of hong kong during the second world war, china reclaimed the rights to kowloon walled city, an exmilitary fort. I would love to visit hong kong someday, i heard it is a beautiful city. As refugees fled to the area, the walled city became. A 1989 german documentary on hong kongs fabled kowloon walled city. The kowloon walled city in hong kong was once the densest place on. City of darkness revisited is a photo book and cultural history of kowloon walled city, a largely ungoverned, densely populated enclave within hong kong. Heres what western accounts of the kowloon walled city dont. Alan wicker enters the kowloon walled city and is taken on a tour by australian ted brown, and also visits the drug rehabilitation center ran by jackie pullinger and her team of friends, there is.
After 1810, the qing government moved the fort to the kowloon bay. Kowloon walled city park hong kong 2020 all you need. A film by christian cascio and marc boulet, quite a fascinating documentary, not many had the opportunity of entering the walled city and videotaping its insides, so its rare footage of a place. Hong kong, november 12, 20 in a roundtable discussion in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the kowloon walled citys demolition, the panel revisited the sites history, its unique spatial development and its legacy for people today, moderated by cole roskam, assistant professor, department of architecture, university of hong kong. Sep 29, 2016 alan wicker enters the kowloon walled city and is taken on a tour by australian ted brown, and also visits the drug rehabilitation center ran by jackie pullinger and her team of friends, there is. So when my husband tom and i visited hong kong last month, i put a visit to the kowloon walled city park at the top of our list. Kowloon walled city was known for its interconnected highrises, and for becoming a crime haven that authorities were afraid to enter. Slightly north of hong kong island there once stood one of the most densely populated places on earth. It became a hong kong island excluding kowloon and the new territories after the signing of the nanjing. Last week, the wall street journal released a new 15minute documentary about the notorious kowloon walled city, which was torn. How the dark legacy of the kowloon walled city lives on in. Hong kong returned to chinese rule in 1997, four years after.
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