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So I’m hanging out with my dad today (my parents are here in Melbourne visiting) and somehow I got to talking with him about his life in Hong Kong before he moved to the United States. Out of curiosity, I ask my dad if he knows what Kowloon Walled City is, and amazingly, he tells me that HE LIVED THERE FOR 14 YEARS WHEN HE LIVED IN HONG KONG!
My fascination with this demolished city suddenly felt very personal. I began firing question after question at my dad about what life was like living in the “City of Darkness”. And his personal accounts were just incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever been so fascinated with my dad before. He basically recounted the history of Kowloon Walled City and the string of events in history that lead it to become notorious as a haven for illegal activity and lawlessness.
He says that there was prostitution, rampant gang activity, illegal businesses, and heaps of amateur dentists lining the side of the city that he lived on. My dad himself was a shoemaker while living there (my family has roots in the shoe business in Hong Kong) and he made shoes for money when he wasn’t at school.
To get to school, my dad had to walk from his house and through the center of this incredible makeshift city to get to the other side before taking a bus to attend classes.
Because of the deal between China and Great Britain at the time, British police had no power within the Kowloon city walls. My dad recalls thieves robbing people on the outskirts of the city and then immediately running into the Kowloon city center in order to evade capture. The British police were simply not allowed into Kowloon Walled City.
The street that determined where the British had power was called “Boundary Street“.
My interest in this place in Hong Kong’s history has been reignited. I can’t believe that I’ve known somebody this whole time who actually lived in there! I’ve read so many things about it over the past few months, and to hear a personal account of it all is just fantastic.
I’ve included some more photos of the city that I’ve never posted on Doobybrain before. Check them out inside.
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Previously on Doobybrain.com: Videos from within Kowloon Walled City and The City of Darkness.
wow, amazing. i reckon there has to be so much about my parents that i don’t know about that i will hopefully find out later in life and be fascinated by the way you have
that’s insane! cool! my parents never told us bedtime stories.. but my mom would tell us life stories of our dad when we were little.. so i actually know a lot about him.. but i don’t know if he knows that i know haha
Tonight I discovered The Walled City… and omg, it’s the epitome of inspiration for writing settings.
I came across your blog, and decided to check out the main page… to find a post like this is shickingly awesome! Milk your dad for every bit of history you can, because a place like that is so unique.
Also: yay for Melbourne!
whoa…that is cool.
baba is cool.
mommy is cool too.
I try to read your blog every other day or so… I must agree with the previous comments. Write down your fathers stories and put them up for all to read. Get as many details as you can. We would all like to read more.
Thanks for a great blog. Only read about 3 regularly and yours is my favorite.
J
haha i remember my dad telling me bedtime stories about gang wars that he witnessed in walled city/ gao long sen chai. i remember that there’s also a memorial there with stone statues of the twelve zodiac animals where i played……
Very impressive ! Looking on google maps it looks like they have removed all trace of the place. Fly to these coords to see 22 19′ 54.52″N, 114 11′ 25.0″ E
wow and you thought brown street sucked. tell your dad to get a job
that’s cool…
I’ve had dreams about Kowloon a whole bunch of times it’s such a fascinating place
Wow, this is bringing back awesome memories. My dad was a cop in Hong Kong and the Divisional Commander of Kowloon City for the last 3 years of it’s life. He used to tell me the stories of what it was like to do the beat there as a young inspector. Great site, Great memories.
In 1988, my husband and I were on a trip to China. It was his retirement gift from out son. We stayed at the Regal Airport Hotel in Hong Kong for the first night until it was time for our airplane trip to Shanghi. When we awoke in the morning, and because we had some time to kill before the flight, we went on a walk. We came upon this huge magnificent structure of buildings—like a wonderful comglomerante of buildings all stacked anywhich way but making a whole. We walked around it and aside it just in awe. We later found out it was called the Walled City. On one spot near that building we saw a tiny kitten trying to survive from eating from a pile of garbage. We saw tiny narrow allyways with people coming in and out. This structure has become ingrained in my mind and I am so wishing I could have seen more of it. In later years, I read of its demise and destriction. I feel sad it is no longer there. Of the many places I have visited, this place has been held most utmost in my mind. It is a truly piece of history that can not be rivaled. I miss it.
我都係住Kowloon Walled City
Wow! That must have blown your mind. I would kill to hear first-hand accounts of life there.
For the obsessed, a lot of the movie LONG ARM OF THE LAW was shot in there. It’s an early “Heroic Bloodshed” film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088107/
I too am fascinated by this place. my parents, like most fleeing china, had there stay there as well. not unliked some of the favelas in rio or barios of brazil. yet kowloon city is so contained and square. not a sprawl on a hill side.
Ever heard of the books “Chasing the Dragon” and “A Crack in the Wall” by Jackie Pullinger? Awesome reads about Kowloon Walled City; she was there for over 20 years, intimately acquainted with the people and activities that went on there. I’ve read “Chasing the Dragon” more than once. Check them out!