Kowloon Peninsula 九龍半島 | |
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 An aerial view of Kowloon Peninsula fromHong Kong Island in 2006 | |
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| Coordinates:22°19′N114°11′E / 22.31°N 114.18°E /22.31; 114.18 | |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (Hong Kong Time) |
| Kowloon Peninsula | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 九龍半島 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 九龙半岛 | ||||||||||||||||
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TheKowloon Peninsula is apeninsula that is part of the southern part of the main landmass in the territory ofHong Kong, alongsideVictoria Harbour and facing towardHong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula andNgong Shuen Chau comprises theOld Kowloon. The Old Kowloon and the area ofNew Kowloon are collectively known asKowloon.
Geographically, the term "Kowloon Peninsula" may also refer to the area south of the mountain ranges ofBeacon Hill,Lion Rock,Tate's Cairn,Kowloon Peak, etc. The peninsula covers five of the eighteendistricts of Hong Kong.Kowloon Bay is located at the northeast of the peninsula.
The main rock type of the peninsula consists of a medium grainedmonzogranite with some fine granite outcrops, part of the Kowloon Granite.[1][2] Early maps and photographs show flat, low-lying land behind the beach of Tsim Sha Tsui Bay with a raised area, Kowloon Hill, in the west.[3]
The peninsula has been significantly expanded throughland reclamation from the sea, over several phases. In the south and west most of the reclamation was carried out before 1904. Reclamation in several other small areas along the mainTsim Sha Tsui waterfront was completed by 1982. Since 1994, parts of theHung Hom Bay werereclaimed and by 2019, it had been completely extinguished. TheWest Kowloon Reclamation was formed as part of theAirport Core Programme and largely completed by 1995.[3]
Before the actualKowloon boundaries were established, the Kowloon Peninsula served as one of the first destinations for escape during China's dynastic times. In 1287, the last emperor of theSong dynasty,Emperor Bing was fleeing from theMongol leaderKublai Khan. Taking refuge in a cave in the Kowloon peninsula, the inscription wrote "Sung Wong Toi" or "Song Emperor's Pavilion".[4] In the 17th century, after the fall of theMing dynasty, many of theEmperor's followers also found shelter in the Kowloon peninsula to hide from theManchus.[4] Britain's occupation of Kowloon was similarly initiated in 1860 for the ostensible reason of policing against "thieves", "outlaws", and "marauders" who raidedHong Kong and then fled to the peninsula for sanctuary.[5]
In the later half of the 19th century, Kowloon Peninsula usually referred to British Kowloon, the territory ceded in 1860 as part of a lease[5] subsequently incorporated into theConvention of Peking ending theSecond Opium War.[6] This was set by a line east from the fort at the northernmost point ofStonecutters Island,[5] first demarcated by a bamboo palisade and now byBoundary Street. Kowloon Peninsula had a population of 800 when it was ceded to theBritish Empire in 1860.[7]
Geographically and presently, the peninsula is reckoned as the land south of the mountain ranges ofLion Rock,Kowloon Peak, and adjacent hills.
In 1898 a resolution was passed by thecolonial Hong KongLegislative Council to preserve the land where some of the caves stand.[8]
Urban areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories | |||||||||||
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| MHong Kong1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16 |  | ||||||||||
| MOld KowloonKL,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16 |
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| MNew KowloonNKL,2,3,4,5,6,7,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16 |
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| New Territories |
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Official place names are summarized from "Geoinfo Map" of Government ofHong Kong Special Administrative Region, "Hong Kong Guide" ofLands Department, "Hong Kong Guide Book" of Universal Publications Ltd. and "Areas and Districts" ofRating and Valuation Department. M：Narrow meaning of urban areas KL:Kowloon Peninsula at the south ofBoundary Street NKL: Former New Territories area at the north of Boundary Street and at the south ofLion Rock 1: Common definition (1) 2: Common definition (2) 3: Common definition (3) 4: Areas not adopting small house concessionary right ofindigenous inhabitants 5: Jurisdiction area of formerUrban Council 6: Definition of "Metropolitan Area" ofPlanning Department 7: Jurisdiction area ofUrban Renewal Authority 8: Unique operating area ofurban taxis 9: "Urban" (9a) and "Extended Urban" (9b) areas defined byHong Kong Housing Authority 10: Definition of Urbanrates 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 inHong 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 | |||||||||||