Tags
For nearly 100 years, the Kowloon Walled City was known as a den of iniquity. Nevertheless, on a site measuring no more than 100 x 200 metres, without legislation and with little regard for basic services. Planning regulations and building standards, the City not only survived, it steadily grew.
Through a continual process of demolition and reconstruction – with never an architect in sight – individual buildings gradually homogenized. An intricate network of communal stairways and corridors linked one to the other, creating a warren of passages that made it possible to traverse the City without once touching the ground. Only at street level did the old grid of public alleyways still exist, but hemmed in and built over, usually dark, damp and unappealing.
Just two regulations were observed: a height limit due to the proximity of Kai Tak, Hong Kong’s old international airport; and the authorized installation of electricity to reduce the all too obvious risk of fire. Safe drinking water was supplied by a mere eight Government stand-pipes, only one of which was within the City boundaries. Open drains ran beside the alleys and refuse was collected from but a few isolated locations.
And yet, at its peak in the 1980s, the Walled City was home to some 35,000 people. This was not always easy to comprehend. The alleys were rarely crowded, even during what constitutes rush-hour in the rest of Hong Kong. Indeed, many appeared permanently deserted. But to the inquisitive, it soon became apparent that every door concealed a room alive with activity.
Shops, factories, dental clinics and apartments – there was little apparent order – all were in use throughout the day. And though there seemed to be no control, apart from the alleys there was remarkably little squalor. True, nearly all the work-places were cramped and dirty, but an underlying mutual understanding kept them running. And through usually without windows, many apartments were as clean and tidy as any similar abode in Hong Kong.
How did the Walled City come about and why did it survive for so long? How was it possible for so many people to live and work in such difficult conditions, yet in apparent harmony? A unique record of a way of life now gone forever, this book attempts to answer those questions
***
The book first came to my attention at a toy forum a few weeks ago. The book was in the background of a photo that was posted and someone enquired about it. The subject caught my interest and I told myself to lookout for it on my next HK trip.
Two day ago, I came across by accident a copy of the book in the library. Took a quick look thru it and decided to bring it home for the leisurely read. With heaps of photographs, interviews and essays on the Walled City’s history and characters, it’s really a must have for urban photography + HK fans. Will have to pick up a copy for myself.
