Kowloon City (九龍城) refers to the central part of Kowloon City District, the area to the east of the old Kowloon Walled City and Junction Road, and to the north of Argyle Street, which is an area with a long history in the district.
History[]
Kowloon City played an important role in the history of Hong Kong's development, as it was a part of the "Kwun Fu Cheung" in the Song Dynasty[1], while the origins of the Kowloon Walled City began in the Ming Dynasty, when it was used by Chinese officials as early as the 15th century.
Kowloon Walled City was the main office of the Manchu government on the Kowloon Peninsula, and after the cession of Hong Kong Island by the Manchu Qing government in 1842, it became the key area for the Qing government to fight against the British colonial rule, and in 1898, when the British leased the New Territories, Kowloon Walled City became an "unregulated" area and followed the laws of the Qing Dynasty with a chaotic management in the area.
After the lease of the New Territories by the British Hong Kong Government, the Shing Nam area (城南區, the area from Prince Edward Road West to Carpenter Road) came under the jurisdiction of the British Hong Kong Government, while the area along Prince Edward Road (later split into Prince Edward Road West) was entirely under the jurisdiction of the British Hong Kong Government as it was a ceded lot.
In the 20th century, as the boundary of Kowloon became increasingly blurred and the problem of government leases emerged, the Government built Boundary Street, which was opened to traffic in 1934, to deal with the problem of government rents by means of a physical road. In the 1930s, the Government also extended Prince Edward Road to Kowloon East (now Choi Hung Interchange) to connect with Kai Tak Airport, which was later split into Prince Edward Road West and Prince Edward Road East, with Tak Kwu Ling Road in Kowloon City as the junction point.
Bus services in the district were first introduced in the 1920s (during the former franchise period), with the Kowloon Motor Bus operating one route between Kowloon City and Yau Ma Tei (the predecessor of KMB Route 1); the Kai Tack Motor Bus also operated in the Kowloon City District at that time, until 1933, when the area franchise came into effect.
After the war, the service area of KMB Route 1 has been maintained to this day, and it is one of the oldest routes of KMB. At that time, Prince Edward Road was a two-way road for most of its length, and it played the role of the backbone of the district. After the end of the Second World War, the Chinese Civil War led to an influx of immigrants into Hong Kong, with Kowloon City being one of the main centres of settlement, concentrated in the Kowloon Walled City and Shing Nam area. Boundary Street and Prince Edward Road West, like Kowloon Tong, were home to the rich and middle class.
In the 1950s, Hong Kong's population grew dramatically, with Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong districts being included in the priority planning areas, and the bus route network in Kowloon City developed rapidly. In addition, the new runway at Kai Tak Airport opened in 1958, which enhanced aviation efficiency, and Kowloon City has since become a major transport hub of the Kowloon Peninsula, with buses travelling to and from the area in an endless stream.
The Kowloon Walled City issue, which had been bothering the Government for many years, was finally resolved by the Chinese and British sides in 1987 with the complete demolition of all houses in the city. A park was built on the site of the Kowloon Walled City and opened in 1993.
Despite the closure of Kai Tak Airport in 1998, Kowloon City's status as a transport hub remains unchanged. At present, the Government is making great efforts to "Energise Kowloon East", with various projects in the Kai Tak Development Area commencing in phases, and the first cruise terminal in Hong Kong commencing operation in June 2013. At the same time, a number of residential blocks and housing estates (e.g. Kai Ching Estate, Tak Long Estate, etc.) have been built in the vicinity, and the opening of MTR Kai Tak Station and Sung Wong Toi Station on 14 February 2020 and 27 June 2021 respectively have brought a new look to the area.
Road/street structure[]
The major trunk roads in Kowloon City include Boundary Street, Prince Edward Road West, Argyle Street and Junction Road, of which Boundary Street is eastbound and one-way in Kowloon City, while Prince Edward Road West and Argyle Street intersect with Ma Tau Chung Road (Ma Tau Wai) and Prince Edward Road East (Kai Tak), and converge to form the Prince Edward Road Interchange.
Junction Road connects to Lok Fu Estate in Wong Tai Sin District, and the southern section is the boundary between Kowloon Tong and Kowloon City.
The major roads in Kowloon Walled City and the southern part of the city include Tung Tau Tsuen Road, Junction Road and Prince Edward Road West, while Nga Tsin Wai Road, the main backbone of the cross roads in the southern part of the city, is served by only two bus routes, one of which is an eastbound route only.
Bus termini[]
At present, there is no franchised bus terminus in Kowloon City. Although the Kowloon City Ferry Public Transport Interchange and the Kowloon City (Shing Tak Street) Bus Terminus are both named "Kowloon City", they are in fact located in To Kwa Wan and Ma Tau Wai respectively, which are outside the boundary of Kowloon City.
Minibus termini[]
- Kowloon City (Lung Kong Road) Minibus Terminus: Located at 1 Lung Kong Road near Prince Edward Road West, it used to be the terminus of the PLB Sai Kung - Kowloon City Route (cancelled), and now it only makes a detour and stops for the PLB Mong Kok - Sai Kung Route when there are seats reserved.
- Kowloon City (Lion Rock Road) Minibus Terminus: Located at 70 Lion Rock Road, it is the terminus for PLB Kowloon City - Tsuen Wan Route and Kowloon GMB Route 69.
- Kowloon Hospital: located at 147A Argyle Street, at the top of the hill, it is the circular point for Kowloon GMB Route 17M.
Gallery[]
.JPG "A Argyle Street Playground(1).JPG (6.27 MB)")
Related articles[]
- Mong Kok East
- Kowloon Tong
- Kai Tak
- Ma Tau Wai
- To Kwa Wan
Notes and references[]
- ↑ See Kwun Tong District for the history of Kwun Fu Cheung.