A place that was completely ungoverned and lawless with darkness reigning the streets 24 hours a day. Use ihg s listings to find the best hotels in hong kong to be your home base to visit kowloon walled city and the local area. The kowloon walled city was a singular hong kong phenomenon. Without a single architect, the ungoverned and most densely populated district became a haven for drugs, crime and prostitution until it was demolished in 1993. City of darkness is a book about life in kowloon walled city, a book that is, in fact, about density. The lives and deaths of historys greatest buildings. An illustrated cross section of hong kongs infamous. Wren for helping book shows, putting us up, and being lovely lads, cat man of west oakland for doing merch for 2 weeks.
First visiting kowloon walled city over 25 years ago, greg girard and ian lambots 1993 book city of darkness. Walled city of kowloon as photographed by greg girard and ian lambot. City of darkness life in kowloon walled city photo book in japanese. Heres what western accounts of the kowloon walled city.
Inside the kowloon walled city where 50,000 residents eked out a grimy living in the most densely populated place on earth. The kowloon walled city is known by many as the informal settlement that once existed seemingly out of place within modern hong kong. Indeed, the idea that mayhem is consort to statism rather than anarchy is unambiguously championed in the historical record of efficient disorder within the walled city. There is very little in here about the walled city and a lot of what is written seems faulty from what else ive read. City of darkness life in kowloon walled city photo book. Originally a military fort, the walled city saw its population rise dramatically during the second world war. By the time it was demolished in 1994 the kowloon walled city, a settlement on two hectares of hong kong, was home to 35,000 people. Containing interviews and commentary, the book tells the citys history, and how the selfsufficient community lived and worked in so little space in such apparent harmony.
The strange saga of kowloon walled city this story is excerpted and adapted from james crawfords book, fallen glory. Life in kowloon walled city, first hit bookshelves in april of 1993, shortly after demolition began on the settlement. Was really interesting to learn about its history, once being a self governed high rise shanty town houisng over 41,000 people, before its demolition in 1993. I needed this for my degree as i am producing an animation based on the walled city. Kowloon walled city was a densely populated, largely ungoverned settlement in kowloon, hong kong. Hotels near kowloon walled city in hong kong, hong kong. Beautiful book about life in an island of buildings in kowloon city. Kowloon walled city kowloon, hong kong, demolished 1993 kowloon walled city, a chinese settlement in hong kong was at one time thought to be the most dense place on the planet.
The kowloon walled city was an astonishing hong kong original. A second hand and antiquarian bookshop in the heart of derry. The kowloon walled city was like a glitch in the urban fabric of hong kong. The book is in great condition and is exactly what i had hoped it would be.
The kowloon walled city in hong kong was once the most densely populated place on earth, a teeming hive of interlinking highrises that few dared to enter but 33,000 people called home. Unregulated by hong kongs safety and health authorities, the walled city covered one square city block in a densely populated neighborhood near the end of the. In 1987, an administrative decision to demolish the city was made, undergoing a multiphase process to its completion in 1993. Kowloon walled city, a population density nightmare. This book describes kowloon walled city which is a district in hong kong. Kowloon walled city was an ungoverned, densely populated settlement in kowloon city, hong kong. Kowloon walled city was a largely ungoverned chinese settlement in kowloon, hong kong, comprising of 350 interconnected highrise buildings where 33,000 residents lived within a plot measuring just 210 meter by 120 meter. Imagine a place with a population that of canterbury, but all tightly packed into a space of a football field. A photographic record of kowloon walled city a city within a city, now demolished and its 35,000 inhabitants rehoused. A rare insight into kowloon walled city daily mail online. Originally a chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave after the new territories were leased to the uk by china in 1898. In 1987, the walled city contained 33,000 residents within its 6. When song lu starts his new job as a dead letter carrier, the curious teenager is drawn to the mysterious walled city of kowloon, a lawless urban enclave and haven for refugees but an alarming trend of missing children will drive him deeper and deeper into the city s secrets. Perfect condition difficult for a softbacked book, and delivered quickly.
The kowloon walled city in hong kong was built graduallybuilding on top of buildingover time. Remembering kowloon walled city, the lawless outpost that was once the most denselypopulated place on earth. The book is rare, but these days its easy to find online. That place existed, it was called kowloon walled city, the most densely populated place in human existence. Blue lotus gallery is proud to present city of darkness. Life in kowloon walled city city of darkness revisited.
City of darkness is an exhibition exploring the long gone walled city of kowloon as photographed by greg girard and ian lambot. This influential body of work, which to date sold over 25000 books. The authoritative text on kowloon walled city archdaily. Images of kowloon walled city from outside and above. Life in kowloon walled city, served us remarkably well for close on 20 years, transforming from hardback to softback and being reprinted multiple times, despite the fact the complete book existed solely in the form of the printers films produced when the book was originally published in 1993.
The strange saga of kowloon walled city atlas obscura. This influential body of work, which to date sold over 25,000 book copies, will be on view in. Demolished two decades ago, the virtually lawless labyrinth still lives on in movies, books and even a. It was time, we decided, to produce an allnew edition and. Most of you may not have heard about the kowloon walled city it was torn down in 199394. Though demolished 20 years ago, fascination in kowloon walled city just. Life in kowloon walled city remained in print for almost 20 years, an extraordinary record for a book of this kindin 20 with interest in the walled city continuing to grow, another reprint seemed inappropriate. Twenty years later, girard and lambot released city of darkness revisited, underscoring the timelessness and enduring legacy of this singular community.
This book is truly a fantastic compilation of the walled citys residents and their personal history which reflects china and hong kongs political and economic development as time went on. City of darkness revisited is a photo book and cultural history of kowloon walled city, a largely ungoverned, densely populated enclave within hong kong. Kowloon walled city the industrial history of hong kong. City of darkness life in kowloon walled city photo book in japanese on. The original book was in print for nearly 20 years, and as the 20th anniversary of the walled citys demolition approached it seemed like the. Originally a chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave after the new territories were leased to britain in 1898. Saw yesterdays submission about that japanese arcade and remembered i had this. The former kai tak international airport was also located in the district. The walled city of kowloon did not evince any flags, anthems, or pledges, but nevertheless developed as tight a sense of community as one can imagine. There are lots of unseen photos in the book that you cant find online. Kowloon walled city, the impossible slum berkeley squares. The walled city was torn down in 1992 but the photographs, oral histories, maps and essays in our book provide the most thorough record of daily life in a place that was a true hong kong original.
Remembering kowloon walled city, the lawless outpost that. The kowloon walled city in nicholas morines third novel offers both beautifully wrought prose and the visceral thrills of the best 1980s action films. Girard and lambot spent four years exploring the notorious walled. History a brief visual history of kowloon walled city history a brief visual history of kowloon walled city 40 last week, the wall street journal released a new 15minute documentary about the notorious kowloon walled city, which was torn down by the colonial government in the 1990s.
If youre looking for a book about kowloon walled city i would recommend city of darkness revisited by ian lambot and greg girard. Though demolished 20 years ago, fascination in kowloon walled city just continues to grow, fired in part by the many urban legends that forever swirl around this extraordinary community. In 1982, hong kong was divided into 18 administrative districts, and kowloon city and its neighbouring areas, such as hung hom, now belong to the kowloon city district. Many dared not enter this lawless zone that had developed a reputation as a place to be avoided, somewhere that harbored vice and illicit trades. Life in kowloon walled city by ian lambot, greg girard isbn. Are there documentary books talking about the kowloon walled city. The original edition of the book, city of darkness.
The life and death of an impossible city kickstarter. It had its own laws, and many traffics took place there, it was the triads kingdom, and many refugees used to live inside. Darkness and life stories from the kowloon walled city. Courtesy of city of darkness revisited this unique society and its complete neglect by the rest of hong kong was born of the equally unique political conditions of the kowloon site. It was a small area in modern day kowloon city, which included a fort, set up after the ceding of hong kong island to the british in 1842 to guard against british imperial expansion. Designed and edited by greg girard and ian lambot the team behind city of darkness. Planning a trip to hong kong and want to stay near kowloon walled city. The website explains, first published in april 1993, city of darkness. The setting of this walled city, ruled by drugs and human trafficking, is actually based on the real life kowloon walled city which astounded me because i didnt even know about kowloon.
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