Kowloon Walled City
Situated in the north of Hong Kong Island, The Kowloon Walled City Park (九龍寨城公園) sits on the remnants of the former Kowloon Walled City.
History of The Kowloon Walled City Park
Originally a Chinese military fort during World War II, the stone walls of this fort were demolished by the Japanese army. From the 1950s to the 1970s, this place turned into a walled city of over 300 interconnected buildings, making it the densest populated place on the earth. Over 33,000 residents lived in its 2.6-hectare (6.4-acre) walls. The triads controlled the walled city and had high crime, prostitution, gambling, and drug use rates.
Only three adjectives could define this place at that time - the darkest, densest, and lawless part of Hong Kong.
After the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, the British and Chinese governments found it difficult to manage this part of Hong Kong. As the building and living spaces were cramped, the hygiene and poor sanitation issues were far beyond repair. The only solution was to demolish this place and resettle its residents. Demolition began in 1993. In 1995, this place transformed into a beautiful park known as The Kowloon Walled City Park.
Model replica of the Kowloon Walled City, designed at a scale of 1:200. This model sits behind the Garden tablet wall facing The Yamen, in the center of the Park.
Here is a full video of Kowloon Walled City Park
The Park
The Kowloon Walled City Park design is a Jiangnan (江南) garden of the early Qing dynasty. The total park area, 31,000 square meters (7.66 acres), is divided into eight theme zones. The design was awarded a Diploma at the IGO Stuttgart EXPO 93 (International Garden Exposition)
View of Lung Nam Pavilion
Things to See at The Park
The park consists mainly of eight landscape features: the Yamen (衙府), Old South Gate (南門), Eight Floral Walks (八徑異趣), Garden of Four Seasons (四季同馨 – 廣蔭庭), Garden of Chinese Zodiac (生肖倩影 – 童樂苑), Chess Garden (棋壇比弈遊弈園), Mountain View Pavilion (邀山樓) as well as the Fei Sing Pavilion (魁星半亭) and Guibi Rock (歸璧石).
There are various entrances from where you can enter this park. Admission is free. We entered from the South Gate, and the first thing we saw was a wall-like structure known as Garden Tablet.
Garden Tablet as seen from South Gate
Behind this wall is the model replica of the walled city. Facing this replica is The Yamen in the center of the park. It is the only remaining old building in Kowloon walled city. The facade was restored to its original appearance during Qing Dynasty. Inside the Almshouse at The Yamen, there is a mini display exhibition of the history and its construction process. It also displays some relics found in the walled city and two old cannons at the entrance of Almshouse.
Seeing the old pictures and reading about their history takes you down memory lane.
Remnants of the South Gate
During the Japanese Occupation between 1941 and 1945, torn down by Japanese soldiers to provide materials to lay the foundation of the Kai Tak Airfield. In 1994 two granite carved plaques were unearthed, bearing the characters South Gate and Kowloon walled city, respectively.
This site is declared a monument, and all the related relics were unearthed and preserved.
Follow the staircase and the path leading to The Mountain View Pavilion. Get a distant view of The Lion Rock mountain on a clear day, resembling the lion facing the park.
Next to the mountain view pavilion is one of my favourite areas of the park - The Garden of Chinese Zodiac.
These 12 sculptures of the Chinese zodiac are carved from white stones and are arranged according to the tian gan (heavenly stems) and di zhi (earthly branches) of Chinese Fengshui. The Chinese zodiac is based on the lunar calendar and assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Find your animal here.
While you exit the mountain view pavilion, don’t forget to stroll through the shaded path outlined by hut-like long structures. You will notice people reading newspapers, chit-chatting, and resting while others capture the perfect picture for their Instagram.
Garden of Four Seasons
This is like a garden within a garden, located to the west of The Yamen. There are flowers of four seasons and bonsais on display in the garden.
Eight Floral Walks
These are 8 different landscape paths where you can enjoy the sight of beautiful plants growing on either side of the paths. These 8 paths are - Pine Tree Path, Lotus flowered Magnolia Path, Red-Leaf Path, Bamboo Path, Fragrant flowers path, Pomegranate path, Banana Tree Path, and Common Crepe Myrtle path.
It is a mostly shaded walk under the trees in the park. You will find this place very peaceful and relaxing. There are varieties of flowers blooming in this park and birds chirping all day long. You can easily spend 1 -2 hours in this park.
There are vending machines at the entrance gates of the park and a small kiosk to buy some snacks near the Yamen.
We hope you enjoyed reading our blog. Don't forget to share it with your friends and family and explore this park.
Getting here
You can get here by MTR or follow any one of the bus routes mentioned here. Use google maps to find the best route.
By MTR Sung Wong Toi Station Exit B3.
Kowloon City Walled Park Admission
Opening Hours
The park opens daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
The exhibitions room opens daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Closed every Wednesday)
Admission: Free
Phone +852 2716 9962
References & useful links
LCSD official website
Photo Gallery
