 |
| The South Gate of the Kowloon Walled City Park. |
Sightseeing is still one of my favourite activities while visiting a foreign place, and while I've been to Hong Kong on countless occasions, there are still places where I have not visited. The Kowloon Walled City Park is one of these.
Way back in 1990, I chanced to visit the old notorious "Walled City", the infamous tenement district that had become an eyesore because of overcrowding, crime and all kinds of vice. It had been a judicial no man's land for decades and was slated for demolition. With its 30 thousand or so occupants rehoused, the viper's nest was torn down during the mid 1990s and replaced by a communal park with much greenery. All that remains of the old city is a Yamen, or almshouse, which served as a sort of community centre, and remnants of an old gate and its foundation. Here are some photos of a rejuvenated slum, a good place to relax in busy and frenetic Hong Kong.
 |
| The North Gate and a bridge within its Chinese garden. |
 |
| An oasis of green in a concrete city. |
 |
| Floor mosaics commonly found in Chinese gardens. |
 |
| A scale model of the old "walled city" slums. |
 |
| The brick walls of the Yamen (almshouse). |
 |
| More of the Yamen. |
 |
Remnants of a sign that used to mark a gate
and part of the foundation of the old fort. |
 |
Mock-up of a murky corridor that used to
transect the old tenements. |
 |
| Photos of life in the old "walled city". |
 |
The rooftop of the old "walled city"
was a favourite place for children to play. |
No comments:
Post a Comment