Area of Hong Kong
Place
Kowloon
九龍
Area
• Land 67 km2 (26 sq mi) Population (2011)
• Total
2,108,419 (2.1 million) • Density 43,033/km2 (111,450/sq mi) Time zone UTC+8 (Hong Kong Time )
Kowloon (/ˌ k aʊ ˈ l uː n Hong Kong comprising theKowloon Peninsula andNew Kowloon . It has a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of 43,033/km2 (111,450/sq mi) in 2006. It is one of the threeareas of Hong Kong , along withHong Kong Island and theNew Territories . It is the smallest, second most populous and most densely populated of the divisions.
Kowloon is located directly north ofHong Kong Island acrossVictoria Harbour . It is bordered by theLei Yue Mun strait to the east,Mei Foo Sun Chuen ,Butterfly Valley andStonecutter's Island to the west, a mountain range, includingTate's Cairn andLion Rock to the north, andVictoria Harbour to the south.
Kowloon comprises the followingdistricts :
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 andEmperor Bing of Song .[ 1] [ 2]
Kowloonc. 1868 , depicting the Qing -eraKowloon Walled City andLion 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 ofBoundary Street , together withStonecutters Island , was ceded byQing China to the United Kingdom under theConvention of Peking of 1860. For many years the area remained largely undeveloped, used by the British mainly for tiger-hunting expeditions.[ 3] [self-published source? The part of Kowloon north of Boundary Street (New Kowloon ) was leased by the British as part of theNew Territories under the 1898Second Convention of Peking for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is Kowloon City, anarea of Hong Kong where theKowloon 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 Song dynasty (960–1279). "New Kowloon" has remained part of theNew 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 theKowloon-Canton Railway and theKowloon Wharf , but because of the close proximity of Kowloon's built-up area toKai Tak Airport , building construction was limited by flight paths. As a result, compared to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon had a much lower skyline.[ 1] World War II , Kowloon became extremely congested whenslums forrefugees from the newly established People's Republic of China gave way topublic housing estates , mixed with private residential, commercial, and industrial areas.
The area ofreclaimed land now known asWest Kowloon was once home to adockyard for theRoyal Navy .
The 1911 census recorded a population of 7,306, with most beingHakka .[ 4] 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.[ 5]
As of 2011[update] [ 6]
About 94.2% of Kowloon's residents are ofHan Chinese [citation needed ethnicity. The largest ethnic minority groups areIndonesians (1.8%),Filipinos (1.5%),Indians (0.5%),Nepalese (0.4%), andBritish (0.3%).[ 6] Cantonese as their usual language, while 2.3% use English and 1.2% useMandarin .[ 6]
Kowloon comprises these localities of Hong Kong:
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University inHung Hom King George V School ,Homantin Lists of primary and secondary schools in Kowloon by district:
Western Harbour Crossing , one of the tunnels that link Kowloon with Hong Kong IslandKowloon is connected to Hong Kong Island by two road-onlytunnels (theCross-Harbour Tunnel and theWestern Harbour Crossing ), three MTR railway tunnels (Tsuen Wan line ,Tung Chung line /Airport Express andEast Rail ) and one combined road and MTR rail link tunnel (Eastern Harbour Tunnel , containing theTseung Kwan O line and road traffic in separate parallel conduits). No bridges connect the island and Kowloon.
Urban Council Centenary Garden fountain, Tsim Sha Tsui
An Air France Boeing 747 passing above Kowloon, prior to landing at the old airport in 1998.
Kowloon Peninsula panorama
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Kowloon .
Urban areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories
M Hong Kong 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16
M Kowloon KL,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16
M New Kowloon NKL,2,3,4,5,6,7,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16
New Territories
M Kwai Tsing District 6,7,9b,10,11,14 M Tsuen Wan District 6,7,9b,10,11,14 Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula Lantau Island )Sha Tin District 9b,10 Sai Kung District 15 Islands District 11,14,15
22°19′N 114°11′E / 22.317°N 114.183°E /22.317; 114.183
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