kowloon walled city

The walled city of Kowloon in China, dubbed the city

of darkness or the ant / hive city, was a densely
populated and ungoverned settlement in the city of
Kowloon in Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese
military fort, the walled city became an enclave after
the New Territories were rented to the United Kingdom by China in 1898. Its population
increased dramatically after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II,
making it it became a political anomaly in Hong Kong's colonial history. In 1990, the walled
city contained 50,000 residents within its 2.6-hectare borders. From the 1950s to the
1970s, it was controlled by local triads and had high rates of prostitution, gambling, and
drug abuse.
The mafia empire
Starting in the 1950s, triad groups like the 14K and Sun Yee On gained absolute
dominance in the walled city's innumerable brothels, gambling halls, and opium dens,
which had become a haven for criminals. , and where the police would venture to enter
alone with large reinforcements. It was not until 1973-74, when a series of more than
3,500 police raids led to more than 2,500 arrests and more than 1,800 kilograms of seized
drugs, that the power of the triads began to diminish. With public support, particularly from
younger residents, the ongoing raids gradually eroded drug use and violent crime. In
1983, the Kowloon City District Police Commander stated that the walled city crime rate
was under control.
Evacuation and demolition
Over time, both the British and Chinese governments discovered that the city was
increasingly intolerable despite the reported lower crime rate. The quality of life in the
sanitary conditions of the city in particular remained far behind the rest of Hong Kong.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984 laid the foundations for the demolition of the
city. The mutual decision of the two governments to tear down the walled city was
announced on January 14, 1987. On March 10, 1987, after the announcement that the
walled city was to become a park, the District Administration Secretary formally requested
the City Council to take over the site after the demolition. Due to the presence of
numerous other green spaces in the area, the Department of Urban Services doubted the
need for "another park" from the point of view of planning and operations, but the council
agreed to accept the government's proposal with the condition of that the government
assume the cost of building the park.
Design and architecture
Construction dramatically increased during the 1960s and 1970s, until the ancient low-
rise city consisted almost entirely of buildings of 10 floors or more (with the notable
exception of the yamen at its center). However, due to the position of the Kai Tak Airport
800 meters south of the city, the buildings did not exceed 14 floors. The two-story Sai
Tau Tsuen settlement bordered the walled city to the south and west until it was cleared
in 1985 and replaced by Carpenter Road Park.

Population
A comprehensive government survey in 1987 gave a clearer idea: An estimated 33,000
people resided within the walled city. According to this survey, the walled city had a
population density of approximately 1,255,000 inhabitants per square kilometer in 1987,
making it the most densely populated place in the world.