Kowloon Walled City (Chinese: 九龍城寨) known colloquially as “the city of darkness” was an extremely densely populated and largely lawless enclave of China that existed within the boundaries of Kowloon City in the former British Hong Kong.
It started life as a Chinese military fort during the Qing Dynasty, but its modern story really took shape in the late 19th century. When Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, the Walled City became a strange diplomatic loophole – technically Chinese territory, but enclosed by British-controlled Hong Kong.
Its population increased dramatically after the end of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II, attracting mostly refugees fleeing the renewed Chinese Civil War. Thousands of refugees from mainland China poured in, and the old stone walls were swallowed by an anarchic, self-built megastructure.
By the 1980s, roughly 50,000 people were living inside just 2.6 hectares – making it the most densely populated place on Earth. From the outside, it looked like a single, solid block of concrete, 12 to 14 storeys high, pierced only by a chaotic tangle of pipes, cables, balconies, makeshift stairwells and dangling laundry. From the inside, it was a dim maze of narrow corridors, barely lit by daylight, where electric wires and water pipes snaked along the ceilings. Sunlight reached only the top floors; lower levels lived in a perpetual twilight.
It had no central planning, no building codes, and for decades, almost no police presence. People could come to Kowloon, and, in official terms, disappear. The lower floors were notorious for illegal factories, unlicensed dentists, opium dens, gambling rooms and brothels, many linked to the five Triad gangs who all took up residence: King Yee, Sun Yee On, 14K, Wo Shing Wo, and Tai Ho Choi. But it was not simply a criminal slum. It was also a functioning, tightly knit community. Families lived there for generations. Children played in rooftop courtyards. Neighbours shared water lines, electricity and favours. There were small temples, noodle factories, schools and workshops that produced everything from fish balls to plastic goods.
Life was improvised but organised. Elevators were almost non-existent; people climbed dark stairwells with groceries and furniture. Water was pumped up from wells to rooftop tanks. Because planes from the nearby Kai Tak Airport flew directly overhead [Ed: I remember that approach when landing. Eek!], building height was capped by aircraft safety, creating a relatively flat, crowded rooftop skyline – like a concrete mesa.
Photographers and journalists portrayed it as a vertical slum, a cyberpunk vision of overcrowding and decay. It inspired countless films, novels, video games and a cool 1993 book of photographs: The City of Darkness by Ian Lamb and Greg Girard.
To outsiders, the Walled City became a symbol of urban dystopia. [Ed: Very Silo.] To residents, it was simply home – cheap, central, and alive with opportunity.
The renowned American science fiction writer, William Gibson, a Walled City fan, saw in the unregulated, organic chaos, an embodiment of his famous concept of “cyberspace” – or, as we would call it today, the internet.
By the late 1980s, both British and Chinese authorities had finally agreed that the place had to go. By 1993, the city had been fully evacuated, and demolition began. Residents were compensated and rehoused. By 1994, the world’s strangest city was gone.
Today, its footprint is a peaceful public park, with stone markers and a reconstructed gate marking where the chaos once stood.
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City
cityofdarkness.co.uk
nationalgeographic.com/history/article/kowloon-walled-city-history
atlasobscura.com/articles/kowloon-walled-city
Images
1. An aerial photo of the Kowloon Walled City taken in 1989. Photo credit: Ian Lambot
2. 1915 map of the Hong Kong region with Kowloon Walled City listed as "Chinese Town" at the upper right-hand corner
3. Plan of buildings and streets within Kowloon Walled City in 1980s. Credit: Lord Jaraxxus
4. South China Morning Post infographic of Kowloon Walled City by Adolfo Arranz
5. Kowloon Walled City alley. Photo credit: Greg Girard
6. Fish balls and other goods made in Walled City factories were exported to the rest of Hong Kong. Photo credit: Greg Girard
7. The roof was one place to find air and light in the “City of Darkness.” Photo credit: Greg Girard
8. Dentist [Ed: Sets of dentures going cheap!]
9. Silo (TV Series) 2023
10. Aerial view of Kowloon Walled City Park. Credit: Wpcpey
