Kowloon Walled City

About Kowloon Walled City

The Kowloon Walled City (traditional Chinese: 九龍城寨; simplified Chinese: 九龙城寨; originally known as 九龍寨城) was a tiny Chinese enclave that was located in the middle of British Hong Kong for decades. It was torn down in 1993.

The history of the Walled City (known as Kowloon then) can be traced back to the Song Dynasty (960–1279), where it served as a watchpost defending the area against pirates and managing the production of salt. It was rebuilt as a fort in the mid-1800s on the same site on the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. After the ceding of Hong Kong Island to Britain in 1842 in accordance to the Treaty of Nanjing, the Qing (Chinese) authorities felt it necessary for them to establish a military/administrative post to rule the area and to check further British influence in the area.

The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory of 1898 which handed additional parts of Hong Kong (the New Territories) to Britain for 99 years excluded the Walled City, with a population of roughly 700, and stated that China could continue to keep troops there, so long as they did not interfere with Britain's temporary rule. Britain quickly went back on this unofficial part of the agreement, attacking Kowloon Walled City in 1899, only to find it deserted. They did nothing with it nor to the outpost, and thus sent the question of Kowloon Walled City's ownership squarely into the air. The outpost consisted of a yamen, as well as other buildings (which eventually grew into a low-lying, densely packed neighborhood within the walls), in the era between the 1890s and the 1940s. The enclave remained part of Chinese territory despite the turbulent events of the early 20th century that saw the fall of the Qing government, establishment of a Republic of China in 1911 and later, the People's Republic of China in 1949.