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Kowloon

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Area of Hong Kong This article is about an urban area in Hong Kong. For other uses, see Kowloon (disambiguation). "Kowloon" is a transliteration of 九龍. For other transliterations, see 九龍 (disambiguation).

Place
Kowloon 九龍
Kowloon as viewed from Hong Kong IslandKowloon as viewed from Hong Kong Island
Location within Hong Kong (in green)Location within Hong Kong (in green)
Area
 • Land67 km (26 sq mi)
Population
 • Total2,108,419 (2.1 million)
 • Density43,033/km (111,450/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (Hong Kong Time)
Kowloon
"Kowloon" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese九龍
Simplified Chinese九龙
Jyutpinggau2 lung4
Literal meaning"Nine Dragons"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJǐulóng
Bopomofoㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄌㄨㄥˊ
Wade–GilesChiu-lung
Tongyong PinyinJiǒulóng
IPA
Hakka
Romanizationgiulung
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationGáulùhng
Jyutpinggau2 lung4
IPA

Kowloon (/ˌkaʊˈluːn/) is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of 43,033/km (111,450/sq mi) in 2006. It is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is the smallest, second most populous and most densely populated of the divisions.

Location

Kowloon is located directly north of Hong Kong Island across Victoria Harbour. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait to the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Butterfly Valley and Stonecutter's Island to the west, a mountain range, including Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock to the north, and Victoria Harbour to the south.

Administration

Main articles: Kowloon Central, Kowloon East, and Kowloon West

Kowloon comprises the following districts:

Name

The name 'Kowloon' (Chinese: 九龍; lit. 'nine dragons') alludes to eight mountains and a Chinese emperor: Kowloon Peak, Tung Shan, Tate's Cairn, Temple Hill, Unicorn Ridge, Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Crow's Nest and Emperor Bing of Song. It was also spelt 'Kawloong' in some 19th-century sources.

History

Kowloon c. 1868, depicting the Qing-era Kowloon Walled City and Lion Rock (in the background)
Map of Kowloon in 1915
Hong Kong's old airport, Kai Tak, was located in Kowloon Bay.

The part of Kowloon south of Boundary Street, together with Stonecutters Island, was ceded by Qing China to the United Kingdom under the Convention of Peking of 1860. For many years the area remained largely undeveloped, used by the British mainly for tiger-hunting expeditions. The part of Kowloon north of Boundary Street (New Kowloon) was leased by the British as part of the New Territories under the 1898 Second Convention of Peking for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is Kowloon City, an area of Hong Kong where the Kowloon Walled City used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in 1993. The same area was called Kwun Fu Cheung (官富場) during the Song dynasty (960–1279). "New Kowloon" has remained part of the New Territories.

Statutorily, "Kowloon" is only the area south of Boundary Street and Stonecutters Island, but in common use, New Kowloon is not regarded as part of the New Territories, but as an integral part of the Kowloon urban area whether north or south of Boundary Street.

Large-scale development of Kowloon began in the early 20th century, with the construction of the Kowloon-Canton Railway and the Kowloon Wharf, but because of the close proximity of Kowloon's built-up area to Kai Tak Airport, building construction was limited by flight paths. As a result, compared to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon had a much lower skyline. After World War II, Kowloon became extremely congested when slums for refugees from the newly established People's Republic of China gave way to public housing estates, mixed with private residential, commercial, and industrial areas.

The area of reclaimed land now known as West Kowloon was once home to a dockyard for the Royal Navy.

The 1911 census recorded a population of 7,306, with most being Hakka. The invasion of China by Japan in 1937 caused the population of Kowloon to grow drastically. Between 1937 and 1939, 750,000 refugees arrived in Kowloon and nearby areas, with many not having residence.

Demographics

As of 2011, 2,108,419 people lived in Kowloon.

About 94.2% of Kowloon's residents are of Han Chinese ethnicity. The largest ethnic minority groups are Indonesians (1.8%), Filipinos (1.5%), Indians (0.5%), Nepalese (0.4%), and British (0.3%). Around 86% of Kowloon's residents use Cantonese as their usual language, while 2.3% use English and 1.2% use Mandarin.

Localities

Kowloon comprises these localities of Hong Kong:

Education

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom
King George V School, Homantin

Lists of primary and secondary schools in Kowloon by district:

Tertiary education

Notable people

Transport

Western Harbour Crossing, one of the tunnels that link Kowloon with Hong Kong Island

Kowloon is connected to Hong Kong Island by two road-only tunnels (the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the Western Harbour Crossing), three MTR railway tunnels (Tsuen Wan line, Tung Chung line/Airport Express and East Rail) and one combined road and MTR rail link tunnel (Eastern Harbour Tunnel, containing the Tseung Kwan O line and road traffic in separate parallel conduits). No bridges connect the island and Kowloon.

Gallery

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Kowloon Peninsula panorama

References

  1. ^ Fallon, Steve. (2006) Hong Kong and Macau. Lonely Planet Publishing. ISBN 981-258-246-0
  2. "KAWLOONG FERRY STATION: Hong Kong postcard (C48147)". eBay. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. 10,000 Chinese Numbers. Lulu.com. p. 207. ISBN 9780557006212. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016.
  4. James Hayes, The Hong Kong Region 1850–1911. Hong Kong, 2012. ISBN 9888139118
  5. "Hong Kong 2003 – History". www.yearbook.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  6. ^ District Profiles, Hong Kong Census, 2011, archived from the original on 27 September 2013, retrieved 27 September 2013

External links

  • Media related to Kowloon at Wikimedia Commons
  • Media related to Kowloon West at Wikimedia Commons
Hong Kong Districts of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Island
Kowloon and New Kowloon
New Territories (excluding New Kowloon)
Urban areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories
Hong Kong
Central and Western District
Wan Chai District
Eastern District
Southern District
Kowloon
Yau Tsim Mong District
Sham Shui Po District
Kowloon City District
New Kowloon
Sham Shui Po District
Kowloon City District
Wong Tai Sin District
Kwun Tong District
New Territories
Kwai Tsing District
Tsuen Wan District
(Except Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula
on Lantau Island)
Sha Tin District
Sai Kung District
Islands District
(Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula
of Tsuen Wan District included)
Official place names are summarized from "Geoinfo Map" of Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, "Hong Kong Guide" of Lands Department, "Hong Kong Guide Book" of Universal Publications Ltd. and "Areas and Districts" of Rating and Valuation Department.
M：Narrow meaning of urban areas
KL: Kowloon Peninsula at the south of Boundary Street
NKL: Former New Territories area at the north of Boundary Street and at the south of Lion Rock
1: Common definition (1)
2: Common definition (2)
3: Common definition (3)
4: Areas not adopting small house concessionary right of indigenous inhabitants
5: Jurisdiction area of former Urban Council
6: Definition of "Metropolitan Area" of Planning Department
7: Jurisdiction area of Urban Renewal Authority
8: Unique operating area of urban taxis
9: "Urban" (9a) and "Extended Urban" (9b) areas defined by Hong Kong Housing Authority
10: Definition of Urban rates
11: Hospital cluster belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon
12: Police region belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon
13: Regions having 999-year land lease
14: Geographical Constituency in Hong Kong Legislative Council belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon
15: Regional Education Office belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon
16: Primary One Admission School Net belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon

22°19′N 114°11′E / 22.317°N 114.183°E / 22.317; 114.183

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