In modern day Hong Kong, Kowloon (九龍; Mandarin: Jiǔlóng; Cantonese IPA:; Jyutping: gau2 lung4; lit. "nine dragons") refers to the urban area made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. Population (2000): 2,071,000. Population density: 44,000 people/km². It, together with Hong Kong Island, contains 47% of Hong Kong's total population.

Location

Kowloon is located north of Hong Kong Island and south of the mainland part of the New Territories.

Administration

It comprises the following districts:

• Kowloon City
• Kwun Tong
• Sham Shui Po
• Wong Tai Sin
• Yau Tsim Mong

Politics

Kowloon covers two geographical constituencies for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong:

• Kowloon East includes Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong
• Kowloon West includes Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City

History

The part of Kowloon south of Boundary Street, together with Stonecutters Island, was ceded from Qing China to Britain under the Convention of Peking 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 from Qing China to Britain as part of the New Territories in 1898 for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is the Kowloon City, which refers to a district where the Kowloon Walled City used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in 1993. (The same region was called Guanfuchang (官富場) during the Song Dynasty.)

In modern day conversations, however, New Kowloon is often not regarded as part of the New Territories, but as an integral part of the Kowloon urban area on both sides of Boundary Street.

Large-scale development of Kowloon began in the early 20th Century, with the construction of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, the Kowloon Wharf, and the Kai Tak Airport. Precisely because of the airport, building height restrictions had been in place for many years. Yet Kowloon still became extremely congested, especially after the Second World War, when slums for refugees from China gave way to public housings, mixed with private residential, commercial and industrial areas.

On July 1, 1997, both parts of Kowloon were returned to China along with the rest of Hong Kong.

See also

• Kowloon Bay
• Boundary Street
• New Kowloon
• West Kowloon Cultural District
• List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong