Kowloon () is an urban area in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

comprising the

Kowloon Peninsula The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, alongside Victoria Harbour and facing toward Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collect ...

and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006. It is one of the three regions of Hong Kong, along with

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

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 ...

, and is the smallest and most densely populated.

Location

Kowloon is located directly north of

across

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait to the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Butterfly Valley and Stonecutter's Island to the west, a mountain range, including

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 the ...

and Lion Rock to the north, and

to the south. Also, there are many islands scattered around Kowloon, such as CAF island.

Administration

Kowloon comprises the following

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

: * Kowloon City *

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon ...

* Sham Shui Po * Wong Tai Sin *

Yau Tsim Mong Yau Tsim Mong District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong, located on the western part of Kowloon Peninsula. It is the core urban area of Kowloon. The district has the second highest population density of all districts, at . The 2016 By ...

Name

The name 'Kowloon' () alludes to eight mountains and a Chinese emperor: Kowloon Peak, Tung Shan,

, Temple Hill, Unicorn Ridge, Lion Rock,

Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to: Places Canada * Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood * Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia * Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan * Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec United ...

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 ...

and Emperor Bing of Song.Fallon, Steve. (2006) Hong Kong and Macau. Lonely Planet Publishing. It was also spelt 'Kawloong' in some 19th century sources.

History

Kowloon City, Mainland, opposite Hong Kong

The part of Kowloon south of Boundary Street, together with Stonecutters Island, was ceded by

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

China to the United Kingdom under the

Convention of Peking The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amon ...

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 by the British as part of the

under the 1898

Second Convention of Peking The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is Kowloon City, an area of Hong Kong where the

Kowloon Walled City Kowloon Walled City was an ungoverned and densely populated ''de jure'' Imperial Chinese enclave within the boundaries of Kowloon City, British Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave after the New Ter ...

used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in 1993. The same area was called Kwun Fu Cheung () during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(9601279). "New Kowloon" has remained part of the

. 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 the Kowloon-Canton Railway and the

Kowloon Wharf The Wharf (Holdings) Limited (), or Wharf (九倉) in short, is a company founded in 1886 in Hong Kong. As its name suggests, the company's original business was in running wharfage and dockside warehousing, and it was originally known as Th ...

, but because of the close proximity of Kowloon's built-up area to Kai Tak Airport, building construction was limited by flight paths. As a result, compared to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon had a much lower skyline. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Kowloon became extremely congested when

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

s for

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s from the newly established People's Republic of China gave way to

public housing estate Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

s, mixed with private residential, commercial, and industrial areas. The area of reclaimed land now known as

West Kowloon West Kowloon () is the western part of Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong, situated within the Yau Tsim Mong District and Sham Shui Po District. It is bounded by Canton Road to the east, Victoria Harbour to the west and the south, and Jorda ...

was once home to a dockyard for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. The 1911 census recorded a population of 7,306, with most being

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

. The 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.

Demographics

, 2,108,419 people lived in Kowloon. About 94.2% of Kowloon's residents are of ethnicity. The largest ethnic minority groups are

Indonesians Indonesians (Indonesian: ''orang Indonesia'') are citizens or people originally from Indonesia, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. There are more than 1,300 ethnicities in Indonesia, making it a multicultural archipelagic coun ...

(1.8%),

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

(1.5%),

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

(0.5%), Nepalese (0.4%), and British (0.3%). Around 86% of Kowloon's residents use

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

as their usual language, while 2.3% use English and 1.2% use

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Localities

Kowloon comprises these localities of Hong Kong: * Anderson Road area *

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

* Cha Kwo Ling * Cheung Sha Wan *

Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is pr ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

* Hammer Hill *

Hung Hom Hung Hom () is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hung Ho ...

Ho Man Tin Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District. History Section of lists of villages in the book ' (literally ''The History of Xin'an County'') published in twenty fourth year of Jiaqing era ...

* Kai Tak * Kowloon Bay * Kowloon City *

Kowloon Tong Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. It i ...

* Lai Chi Kok * Lam Tin * Lei Yue Mun * Ma Tau Wai * Mong Kok * Ngau Chi Wan * Ngau Tau Kok * Prince Edward * San Po Kong * Sau Mau Ping * Sham Shui Po * Shek Kip Mei *

Tai Kok Tsui Tai Kok Tsui is an area west of Mong Kok in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The mixed land use of industrial and residential is present in the old area. The Cosmopolitan Dock and oil depots were previously located there. Blocks of high-rise residential b ...

* To Kwa Wan *

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an list of areas of Hong Kong, urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hu ...

* Tsz Wan Shan *

* Wong Tai Sin *

Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...

* Yau Tong

Education

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University east

Lists of primary and secondary schools in Kowloon by district: *

List of schools in Kowloon City District This is a list of schools in Kowloon City District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * (藝術與科技教育中心) * (何文田官立中學) * Jockey Club Government Secondary School (賽馬會官立中學) ; Aided * Bishop Hall Ju ...

* List of schools in Kwun Tong District * List of schools in Sham Shui Po District *

List of schools in Wong Tai Sin District This is a list of schools in Wong Tai Sin District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * Lung Cheung Government Secondary School ; Aided * (佛教孔仙洲紀念中學) * CCC Heep Woh College (中華基督教會協和書院) * (中華 ...

List of schools in Yau Tsim Mong District This is a list of schools in Yau Tsim Mong District, Hong Kong. Secondary schools ; Government * Queen Elizabeth School * Sir Ellis Kadoorie Secondary School (West Kowloon) ; Aided * (中華基督教會銘基書院) * ELCHK Lutheran Secondary ...

Tertiary education

* City University of Hong Kong *

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is a public research university located in Hung Hom, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. The University is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded ...

Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts education, liberal arts institution with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of Ame ...

* Open University of Hong Kong *

Tung Wah College Tung Wah College (TWC; ) is a self-financing degree granting tertiary institution of Hong Kong, established by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) in 2010 and registered under the Post-Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap 320). With a mission ...

* Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education * Gratia Christian College

Notable people

Sean Parry Sean Jonathan Pryce Parry (born 1 June 1987) is a Hong Kong cricketer. Parry is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium pace. He was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. While studying for his degree at Durham University, Parry made a single ...

(born 1987), cricketer *

Jackson Wang Jackson Wang (; ko, 왕잭슨; born 28 March 1994) is a Hong Kong rapper, singer, dancer, record producer, fashion designer, and music video director. He is the founder of record label Team Wang and is the creative director and lead designer ...

(born 1994), Founder of TEAM WANG, rapper, singer, dancer, record producer, fashion designer, and music video director

Transport

Kowloon is connected to Hong Kong Island by two road-only tunnels (the

Cross-Harbour Tunnel The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated ''CHT'' or ''XHT'') is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell immersed tube method. It is the earl ...

and the

Western Harbour Crossing The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is a dual 3-lane immersed tube tunnel in Hong Kong. It is the third road tunnel to cross Victoria Harbour, linking the newly reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei on Kowloon West with Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Isla ...

), three MTR railway tunnels ( Tsuen Wan line, Tung Chung line/ Airport Express and East Rail) and one combined road and MTR rail link tunnel (

Eastern Harbour Tunnel The Eastern Harbour Crossing, abbreviated as "EHC" (), is a combined road-rail tunnel that crosses beneath Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Opened on 21 September 1989, it connects Quarry Bay, Hong Kong Island and Cha Kwo Ling, Kowloon East. H ...

, containing the Tseung Kwan O line and road traffic in separate parallel conduits). No bridges connect the island and Kowloon.

Gallery

File:The Urban Council Centenary Garden Fountain 2009.jpg, Urban Council Centenary Garden fountain, Tsim Sha Tsui File:Maze Garden, Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong - DSC06248.JPG, Maze Garden, Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui File:Boeing 747-428, Air France AN0278440.jpg, An Air France Boeing 747 passing above Kowloon, prior to landing at the old airport in 1998. File:Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier.jpg, Star Ferry Pier, with the

Hong Kong Cultural Centre The Hong Kong Cultural Centre () is a multipurpose performance facility in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Located at Salisbury Road, it was built by the former Urban Council and, since 2000, has been administered by the Leisure and Cultural Servi ...

and

Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower The Clock Tower is a landmark in Hong Kong. It is located the southern shore of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. It is the only remnant of the original site of the former Kowloon station on the Kowloon–Canton Railway. Officially named Former Kowloon- ...

in the background. File:Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre from East 2.jpg,

Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre The Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre or Kowloon Mosque is one of five main mosques in Hong Kong. Located in Kowloon, in the Tsim Sha Tsui area at the intersection of Nathan Road and Haiphong Road, beside Kowloon Park, this mosque is curre ...

File:Kowloon-from-Hong-Kong-Island-2015-Luka-Peternel.jpg, Night view of Kowloon from

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 22, 19, N, 114, 11, E, display=title Cities in Asia Populated coastal places in Hong Kong Populated places in Hong Kong