
The Strange Saga of Kowloon Walled City - ecliptik
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/kowloon-walled-city
======
jefftk
_> Even a new treaty in 1898, which granted Hong Kong, Kowloon, and further
territories in Canton to Britain for 99 years, kept the Walled City under
Chinese control. A year later, in May 1899, rumors circulated that Chinese
soldiers were massing again in the Walled City, so the British sent troops
across the water. They expected battle—perhaps another war—but found only the
Mandarin. The irate official left too, and the British took the city, though
the Chinese never renounced their claim. Missionaries moved in and built
churches and schools, pig farmers from the surrounding hills took plots of
land within the walls. There was almost no administrative control, and the
city became a slum. Yet whenever the Hong Kong government tried to clear it to
turn it into a park—evicting the residents in the process—the Chinese
government always stepped in. After all, this tiny rectangle of land was still
officially their territory._

Answers a question I'd had for a while: what was special about this piece of
land that made it effectively lawless?

~~~
bsurmanski
my understanding was that it was in administrative limbo. Britain owned Hong
Kong, and China claimed authority over just to spite them. So Britain left it
alone. But China didn't care enough to actually administer it. And besides, it
was disconnected from the mainland and only i tiny insignificant plot of land.
So why bother setting up all the infrastructure just for a tiny slum?

~~~
Lio
More complex than that even.

If Hong Kong was British under treaty then this area is not covered by British
control. If the British exercise control then they are saying the treaty is
invalid.

The Chinese didn't exercise control because to do so would validate a treaty
that they objected to after the fact; that the original colony was seeded in
perpertuity . They didn't want to fully disown it because they claimed the
whole colony back, not just New Territories.

It was clear by the 1970s that since the Chinese could just cut the water
supply off to Hong Kong if they wanted to, that the compromise solution was to
pretend that the 99 years New Territories lease treaty had always covered the
whole colony and just agree to handover with a two systems one state solution.

------
ottolin
I was studying in Kowloon City, the area where Kowloon Walled City is located
at. I met a girl who was exceptionally hardworking as she told me she needed
good grades to get good grades and hence earning money to get a better living
for her family in the future. We were around 5~6 at the time.

Later I learnt that she lived inside the Walled City and her father was an
unlicensed dentist. Drug addicts and dealers were so natural to her as she
walked pass them everyday on the way back home after school.

20+ years later her dream come true and now she is a specialist. I wonder if
the poor living standard inside Walled City somehow has a positive impact on
her personality. Anyway, she told me that it was a truely amazing experience
to have lived in the City, but she would rather not to if given the choice.

~~~
homonculus1
>I met a girl who was exceptionally hardworking as she told me she needed good
grades to get good grades

You generally do yes

------
tromp
Some cross section is nicely illustrated at

[https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/11/an-illustrated-
cross-...](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/11/an-illustrated-cross-
section-of-hong-kongs-infamous-kowloon-walled-city/)

------
rkho
In the city of Kawasaki, Japan there was an arcade whose interior was modeled
to look like Kowloon Walled City. The builders supposedly flew in literal
trash from the actual Kowloon Walled City to use in the arcade. Sadly, they
closed permanently at the end of November last year:

[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/anata-no-
warehouse](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/anata-no-warehouse)

~~~
m4rtink
Damned, that really sucks! :P We went there last Jully and it was marvelous.
Not just the part modelled after Kowloon Walled City, but also the arcade
itself, best arcade machine selection from anywhere we went. Even the other
visitors we met were pretty cool, showing their crazy skills on the music
arcades and sometimes ever wearing stylish cyperpunk styled clothes. :)

Oh well, at least we saw it while it was still operational.

------
Someone
_”On average, residents received around $380,000 for their individual flats.”_

I found that extremely high in 1987-89 dollars, but then realised this must be
Hong Kong dollars. [https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/bank-of-england-
spot/histo...](https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/bank-of-england-
spot/historical-spot-exchange-rates/usd/USD-to-HKD-1987) gave me an exchange
rate of somewhere between 7 and 8 Hong Kong dollars to a US dollar.

I think that still was a considerable sum, around 1990 in China.

~~~
bearcobra
That's funny, since home prices in HK average something like 1.2 million US
now I didn't blink twice at that number.

~~~
Someone
I wouldn’t blink, either, except that this was a slum (even by Chinese
standards of the time), and that it was densely populated.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City))
says it had 5,000,000 people per square mile. Dividing by 20 floors still
gives you 250,000 people per square mile.

If I calculate that correctly, that’s ballpark 100 square feet per inhabitant,
and that area included shared space. I would guess the average ‘apartment’
would have about half that, and only the better ones would have windows facing
outside.

~~~
robjan
100sqf per inhabitant isn't particularly uncommon in Hong Kong, even in normal
flats. It's quite common to fit an entire family in 300-400 sqf and that flat
will set you back nearly US$1m on HK Island.

------
aasasd
There's a sort of a documentary on Kowloon, from back in the day:
[https://youtube.com/watch?v=S-rj8m7Ssow](https://youtube.com/watch?v=S-rj8m7Ssow)

~~~
selimthegrim
The Steam game linked to in the comments
([https://store.steampowered.com/app/1178490/ParanormalHK/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1178490/ParanormalHK/))
looks promising.

~~~
selimthegrim
Amazingly, there's more than one:
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1182090/Mr_Pumpkin_2_Kowl...](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1182090/Mr_Pumpkin_2_Kowloon_walled_city/)

~~~
musha68k
I never went to see Kowloon in real life but I have the fondest memories of it
through the detailed renditions and special atmosphere of Shenmue II on the
Sega Dreamcast.

The story takes place in 1986; you play a young Japanese man in search for the
killer of his father. The whole Hong Kong experience especially, still feels
very much like (time) travel.

The game is also available on steam (and on console marketplaces AFAIK):

[https://store.steampowered.com/app/758330/Shenmue_I__II/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/758330/Shenmue_I__II/)

~~~
ac2u
I'm playing through the third at the moment. It has managed to recreate the
atmosphere of the first two games in a respectable way (given the reduced
budget) (even if IMO it's lacking some polish)

------
keiferski
The continued (and growing) popularity of KWC seems to me to indicate a real
desire for a more organic, free-form style of living space and architecture as
opposed to the IKEA / Dubai / generic mall style that we seem to be building
everywhere. I wonder if something similar will ever arise in the near
future...my guess is that we'll have to wait for space travel to really kick
off to see more flexible forms of government and construction.

In any case, the closest thing today in Hong Kong to the Walled City is
probably Chungking Mansions. Not quite as anarchic or run down, but it does
have a family resemblance. I recommend the book _Ghetto at the Center of the
World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong_ for more about the interesting global
mix of people and economics that goes on there.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungking_Mansions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungking_Mansions)

[https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo11...](https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo11234886.html)

~~~
nradov
Such styles of living space and architecture are only popular until there's a
fire or earthquake. Then everybody dies.

------
aplc0r
A cool coffee table book on this subject is "Kowloon large illustrated" (ISBN
4000080709) by Iwanami Shoten. Even if you can't read Japanese, the photos and
illustrations are great.

~~~
hcrisp
Chasing the Dragon (Jackie Pullinger) is the account of a British woman who
moved to Hong Kong and felt led by God to help the underprivileged in Kowloon
City, with dramatic results. No illustrations, but a riveting read (if you
have an open mind).

~~~
tomatocracy
There's also a photo book by her about it called Crack in the Wall. Don't
think it's currently in print but worth tracking down a secondhand copy.

------
zchrykng
I thought I recognized the name of this place. It is featured in the game
Shadowrun: Hong Kong [1]. Highly recommend it, lot of fun.

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowrun:_Hong_Kong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowrun:_Hong_Kong)

~~~
tclancy
It also appears in Iron Fist comics as something _very_ different.

------
Symbiote
There are more photos, and discussion of installing electricity and water, on
this website. (It seems to be by the same author as the Atlas Obscura article,
or at least the same photographer.)

[https://cityofdarkness.co.uk/category/the_city/](https://cityofdarkness.co.uk/category/the_city/)

------
ctdonath
I’m curious about the economics of constructing such a place: 13 story
buildings under such conditions seem a non sequitur.

~~~
pram
It accreted, it wasn't planned. They just built things on top of other things.

~~~
ctdonath
13 stories seems too much to "accrete". Architectural or economic, it's a
startling achievement of anarchy.

~~~
Symbiote
The book suggests a construction contractor would approach the owners of a
smaller building, and in return for replacing it with a much larger one, they
would own the lower X floors.

------
aaron695
Bloodsport 1988 had a scene in the Kowloon Walled City

I think it and the Japanese footage is the only known film from inside?

A good excuse as any to re/watch a classic movie.

~~~
winkeyless
Call of Duty: Black Ops has an extensive session in Kowloon Walled City.

------
yibg
I think having a modern version of this would be kind of cool. Something
that’s managed with laws and isn’t a slum. I’d imagine having everything you
need in an enclosed space would be appealing to some people.

~~~
aasasd
Firstly, afaik many high-rises are already set up this way, especially in
China or Hong Kong where they get pretty dense.

Also IIRC there's a settlement in Alaska or Canada that's just one apartment
building, population of 200-something. Personally I wouldn't be able to live
there, with everyone knowing who's sleeping with whom.

Secondly, I don't know how _enclosed_ you want the space, but in many European
cities, you get everything you need and most of what you want in a rather
short walking distance―instead of having to drive. Plus you get sun and fresh
air, as opposed to what was there in Kowloon.

~~~
mattkrause
Are you thinking of Begich Towers in Whittier, Alaska?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begich_Towers)

~~~
yibg
Huh learned the term arcology today. I think that’s a pretty fitting word to
describe what I meant.

~~~
netsharc
Someone didn't grow up playing Sim City 2000...

[https://simcity.fandom.com/wiki/Arcology](https://simcity.fandom.com/wiki/Arcology)

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andrekandre
> The result was a city outside the law: There was no tax, no regulation of
> businesses, no health or planning systems, no police presence.

interesting...i wonder if it could be considered one of the only known
“libertarian” type of cities/places?

are there any other known places like this? did they fair any better?

~~~
keiferski
Not quite the same thing, but: between 1918 and 1921, there was an 'anarchist
territory' with a population of 7 million people in eastern Ukraine. By all
accounts it was essentially stateless and had no real authority. Alas, it got
entangled in the Russian Civil War and was dismantled in the 1921 by the
Soviets.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makhnovia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makhnovia)

~~~
rasz
You can experience something similar today in Moldova.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria)

~~~
andrekandre
super interesting, appreciate the link

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tomohawk
Reminds me of the Java ecosystem

