View of Kowloon and Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

The Eight Mountains of Kowloon () are eight prominent mountains in Hong Kong that serve as a natural border between the

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong 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 t ...

area and 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 ...

. The eight mountains are:

Kowloon Peak Kowloon Peak, also known as Fei Ngo Shan (literally: "Soaring Goose Mountain"), is a tall mountain in the northeast corner of New Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in Ma On Shan Country Park. It is the tallest mountain in Kowloon, and is crossed by ...

, 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 Unicorn Ridge () is a mountain in Hong Kong at in height. It is one of the Eight Mountains of the Kowloon Ridge and falls within Lion Rock Country Park. Sha Tin Pass lies between Unicorn Ridge and Temple Hill. The summit of Unicorn Ridge is jus ...

Lion Rock Lion Rock, or less formally Lion Rock Hill, is a mountain in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin District, between Kowloon Tong of Kowloon and Tai Wai of the New Territories, and is high. The peak consists of granite covered sparsely by shr ...

, Beacon Hill and

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 by ...

. Incidentally, the name Kowloon stems from the term ''nine (kow) dragons (loon) (''), alluding to the eight mountains plus a Chinese emperor, the

Emperor Bing of Song Zhao Bing (12 February 1272 – 19 March 1279), also known as Emperor Bing of Song or Bing, Emperor of Song (宋帝昺), was the 18th and last emperor of the Song dynasty of China, who ruled as a minor between 6 and 7 years of age. He was a ...

, who had fled to Hong Kong after being targeted by Mongol troops.Fallon, Steve. (2006) Hong Kong and Macau. Lonely Planet Publishing. In Ancient China, the Emperor used to be revered like a dragon and was the only person who could wear robes depicting a dragon.

See also