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Kowloon () is an urban area in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and the rest of the New Territories. The peninsula's area is about .


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 Tate's Cairn or Tai Lo Shan () is a mountain in Hong Kong at in height. It is one of the peaks of the Kowloon Ridge and falls within Ma On Shan Country Park. The peak began to appear on colonial maps in the 1860s but remained unnamed until th ...
and Lion Rock to the north, and Victoria Harbour to the south. Also, there are many islands scattered around Kowloon, like CAF island.


Administration

Kowloon comprises the following districts: * Kowloon City * Kwun Tong * Sham Shui Po * Wong Tai Sin *
Yau Tsim Mong Yau Tsim Mong District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong, located on the western part of Kowloon Peninsula. It is the core urban area of Kowloon. The district has the second highest population density of all districts, at . The 2016 ...


Name

The name 'Kowloon' () alludes to eight mountains and a Chinese emperor: Kowloon Peak, Tung Shan,
Tate's Cairn Tate's Cairn or Tai Lo Shan () is a mountain in Hong Kong at in height. It is one of the peaks of the Kowloon Ridge and falls within Ma On Shan Country Park. The peak began to appear on colonial maps in the 1860s but remained unnamed until th ...
, Temple Hill, Unicorn Ridge, Lion Rock,
Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to: Places Canada * Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood * Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia * Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan * Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec United ...
,
Crow's Nest A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point. On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...
and Emperor Bing of Song.Fallon, Steve. (2006) Hong Kong and Macau. Lonely Planet Publishing. It was also spelt 'Kawloong' in some 19th century sources.


History

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 The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amo ...
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 The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
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 Kowloon Walled City was an ungoverned and densely populated '' de jure'' Imperial Chinese enclave within the boundaries of Kowloon City, British Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave after the New ...
used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in 1993. The same area was called Kwun Fu Cheung () during the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
(9601279). "New Kowloon" has remained part of the
New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
. 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 The Wharf (Holdings) Limited (), or Wharf (九倉) in short, is a company founded in 1886 in Hong Kong. As its name suggests, the company's original business was in running wharfage and dockside warehousing, and it was originally known as Th ...
, 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Kowloon became extremely congested when
slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily ...
s for refugees from the newly established People's Republic of China gave way to
public housing estate Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, de ...
s, mixed with private residential, commercial, and industrial areas. The area of reclaimed land known as
West Kowloon West Kowloon () is the western part of Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong, situated within the Yau Tsim Mong District and Sham Shui Po District. It is bounded by Canton Road to the east, Victoria Harbour to the west and the south, and Jor ...
was once home to a dockyard for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
. The 1911 census recorded a population of 7,306, with most being
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
. 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

, 2,108,419 people lived in Kowloon. About 94.2% of Kowloon's residents are of ethnicity. The largest ethnic minority groups are Indonesians (1.8%),
Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...
(1.5%), Indians (0.5%), Nepalese (0.4%), and British (0.3%). Around 86% of Kowloon's residents use
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
as their usual language, while 2.3% use English and 1.2% use Mandarin.


Localities

Kowloon comprises these localities of Hong Kong: * Anderson Road area * Austin * Cha Kwo Ling * Cheung Sha Wan *
Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is ...
*
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
* Hammer Hill * Hung Hom * Ho Man Tin * Kai Tak * Kowloon Bay * Kowloon City *
Kowloon Tong Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. It ...
* Kwun Tong * Lai Chi Kok * Lam Tin * Lei Yue Mun * Ma Tau Wai * Mong Kok * Ngau Chi Wan * Ngau Tau Kok * Prince Edward * San Po Kong * Sau Mau Ping * Sham Shui Po * Shek Kip Mei *
Tai Kok Tsui Tai Kok Tsui is an area west of Mong Kok in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The mixed land use of industrial and residential is present in the old area. The Cosmopolitan Dock and oil depots were previously located there. Blocks of high-rise residential ...
* To Kwa Wan * Tsim Sha Tsui * Tsz Wan Shan *
West Kowloon West Kowloon () is the western part of Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong, situated within the Yau Tsim Mong District and Sham Shui Po District. It is bounded by Canton Road to the east, Victoria Harbour to the west and the south, and Jor ...
* Wong Tai Sin *
Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...
* Yau Tong


Education

Lists of primary and secondary schools in Kowloon by district: *
List of schools in Kowloon City District This is a list of schools in Kowloon City District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * (藝術與科技教育中心) * (何文田官立中學) * Jockey Club Government Secondary School (賽馬會官立中學) ; Aided * Bishop Hall ...
*
List of schools in Kwun Tong District This is a list of schools in Kwun Tong District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * Kwun Tong Government Secondary School (觀塘官立中學) * Kwun Tong Kung Lok Government Secondary School (觀塘功樂官立中學) ; Aided * Buddhi ...
*
List of schools in Sham Shui Po District This is a list of schools in Sham Shui Po District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * Kowloon Technical School (九龍工業學校) ; Aided * Buddhist Tai Hung College (佛教大雄中學) * CCC Ming Yin College (中華基督教會 ...
*
List of schools in Wong Tai Sin District This is a list of schools in Wong Tai Sin District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * Lung Cheung Government Secondary School ; Aided * (佛教孔仙洲紀念中學) * CCC Heep Woh College (中華基督教會協和書院) * (中� ...
*
List of schools in Yau Tsim Mong District This is a list of schools in Yau Tsim Mong District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * Queen Elizabeth School, Hong Kong, Queen Elizabeth School * Sir Ellis Kadoorie Secondary School (West Kowloon) ; Aided * (中華基督教會銘基 ...


Tertiary education

* City University of Hong Kong * Hong Kong Polytechnic University *
Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts institution with a Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of American Baptists, who provided both operati ...
* Open University of Hong Kong *
Tung Wah College Tung Wah College (TWC; ) is a self-financing degree granting tertiary institution of Hong Kong, established by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) in 2010 and registered under the Post-Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap 320). With a mission ...
* Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education * Gratia Christian College


Notable people

*
Sean Parry Sean Jonathan Pryce Parry (born 1 June 1987) is a Hong Kong cricketer. Parry is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium pace. He was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. While studying for his degree at Durham University, Parry made a single ...
(born 1987), cricketer


Transport

Kowloon is connected to Hong Kong Island by two road-only tunnels (the
Cross-Harbour Tunnel The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated ''CHT'' or ''XHT'') is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell immersed tube method. It is the earl ...
and the
Western Harbour Crossing The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is a dual 3-lane immersed tube tunnel in Hong Kong. It is the third road tunnel to cross Victoria Harbour, linking the newly reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei on Kowloon West with Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Isla ...
), 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

File:The Urban Council Centenary Garden Fountain 2009.jpg, Urban Council Centenary Garden fountain, Tsim Sha Tsui File:Maze Garden, Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong - DSC06248.JPG, Maze Garden, Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui File:Boeing 747-428, Air France AN0278440.jpg, An Air France Boeing 747 passing above Kowloon, prior to landing at the old airport in 1998. File:Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier.jpg, Star Ferry Pier, with the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower in the background. File:Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre from East 2.jpg,
Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre The Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre or Kowloon Mosque is one of five main mosques in Hong Kong. Located in Kowloon, in the Tsim Sha Tsui area at the intersection of Nathan Road and Haiphong Road, beside Kowloon Park, this mosque is currently ...
File:Kowloon-from-Hong-Kong-Island-2015-Luka-Peternel.jpg, Night view of Kowloon from Hong Kong Island


References


External links

* * {{Coord, 22, 19, N, 114, 11, E, display=title Cities in Asia Populated coastal places in Hong Kong Populated places in Hong Kong