A rare look inside the Kowloon Walled City in 1990
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- Опубликовано: 11 апр 2018
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The Kowloon Walled City, a bizarre chapter of Hong Kong’s colonial history, was demolished 25 years ago. Rob Frost captured remarkable footage inside the enclave in 1990.
It looks horrible, and amazing at the same time.
Not amazing, it's a death zone Ffs.
@@Inuitman are you going to ignore that he called it 'horrible' before anything else?
Aggu Kristian Obviously it is a death zone of sorts but as the video said, “many residents remember it fondly” because it was one of the only places on Earth free of a huge government, policing, and all that normal stuff that everyone else has to deal with
ikr
my mum was in there when she was a kid, she said it was fun inside
It's amazing that this whole city was created without planning or building codes. It grew organically.
In spite of govt limitation of land. If they had a whole island to themselves, it could've been better.
I saw in a documentary that the building didn't crumbled of fall off cause they literally were stuck together
Lol meanwhile in africa people are still living in mud huts, but hey that's not race-related.
@शिरीष ರಾಮಾಯ u clearly haven't travelled whole of india yet.
Ever heard of New Mumbai?
@@alainportant6412those huts aren't crammed, stuffed or stacking people like files either. I'd take the hut.
Friends and I walked through this in 1992, after it had been condemned, and many people had moved out, but before tear-down had begun. Some people, mostly old men, were still living there. Definitely had a "Blade Runner" feel to it.
The blue lights at night mustve been both depressing and scary yet exciting all at once
Was there still alot of stuff there? How dis these people get electricity?
How old are you?
@@tahsinnawarreti6662How old are you?
@@thatbobbi almost 15
You know this would be a tourist hotspot if it was still around
Regan DeHaven instagramers would make sure of it lol
@@reach831 haha I know right but I mean hey business would boom with all the tourists
Yeah with hipster coffee places all over
Nah this would be center of all the crimes, i am glad they destroyed it
The largest slum in Asia Dharavi in India still exists. Where a million people reside in 500 acres of land. Never heard it being a tourist hotspot
Amazing. It's like something out of a dystopian science-fiction novel.
does anyone know any novel that has this type of genre?
@@luviathan9706 judge Dredd is very similar to this with the same major dystopian vibe, albeit a lot more violent but it is very similar in term on the setting
@@socialreject2156 Tq for telling me that!
@@luviathan9706 np mate, don't know if you've watch it yet but the movie DREDD is a masterpiece and you should check it out
@@socialreject2156 haven't watched it tho but I've heard bout it before
What surprises me is that Kawloon was never razed to the ground by a fire. The building code and electrical issues alone seem like it was designed to go up in flames sooner than later. Then how would you even try to fight a fire under those circumstances.
the very leaky plumbing might have played a role.
The mold would be a bigger problem I think, what with all that water everywhere. And little proper airflow or sunlight to combat it as well.
Lack of air? No wind? Wet? Concrete?
Challenges your worldview, huh? Read Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge in Society."
It seemed to be mostly moist and mildew, so it seemed quite safe from fires.
I believe the most toughest person that time was
The postman
Yes! Someone who is aware Greg Girard and Ian Lambot’s City of Darkness exists!
Can't leave home without his trusty shotgun and machete.
Dudes playing death stranding in kowloon
No postmen. No cops, no garbagemen, no EPA, no one inspecting your food and recalling it if it's poisoned. It was a city where you were fully on your own. Which is why all the photos and footage show the ground littered with garbage, every inch of street dripping with water, and pigs and chickens killed, cleaned and served in unsanitary conditions. This is what happens when you have no real organization to your society. It's quite a sight, but it's also poverty in the purest, oldest sense.
@@sleepingdogpro Kowloon is probably one of the most interesting cities I've ever heard of. When I found this video I did so much research on Kowloon and how life was there. It just seems like something that wouldn't be possible.
If you can find it, buy a copy of the book: “City of Darkness: Life In Kowloon Walled City”. It’s an amazing detail of the walled city. It’s a very rare book nowadays, but it’s the holy grail on the subject.
*runs to Barnes & Noble*
Just bought the reprint!
There is also a Christian book about recovery that I once read in prison about the place
@@majormackeral "Chasing the Dragon" I believe
$1,500 Hardback... and $205 paperback
Yes, I looked too. Waiting til next paycheck.
Careful... when i buy one i bet the price jumps $20 haha
The fact that these "tall" buildings stood up ...its an engineering marvel..
Think of the mold and bugs
anything is possible in china...
Daniel Melendez Hong Kong
@@baddyaddyah4829 Hong Kong is part of China lol
The buildings probably held each other up - nowhere to fall!
It was NOT a place the Royal Hong Kong Police feared to tread and it was policed. I know as I patrolled it in the 1970s.
do you have any pictures or any stories you could share with us or me in messages?? i am fascinated by this city.
Did you know Kowloon in the 1970s? If you don't it is rather hard to explain - briefly after the 2 World War HK resumed being a British colony. Thanks to the Japanese occupation there were very few people left in HK- Boundary Street was where the paddy fields started! In the 1950s through 1980s literally millions of people fled Maoist China. HK was swamped with people. Government built emergency housing "H" blocks but could never keep up with the flow of refugees from China. These people settled in vast insanitary overcrowded shanty towns made of wood, plastic etc, especially in North East Kowloon (and elsewhere). The Walled City is a great name but actually it was just another incredibly densely populated slum area. It was claimed it had been part of a Mandarin's garden and was exempt from British rule but in practice this was ignored by Government. The walled city was unusual in two things - firstly quite tall unlicensed and illegal brick and concrete buildings were put up (see videos) and as a policy it was ignored by government because other areas were worse off and needed limited government funds urgently. Clearing the walled city area would have used too many resources needed elsewhere. Patrolling it by day or night was depressing but not exciting. "Grey water" ran along channels in the centre of the twisty lanes that ran through it. It stank. Washing and electric cables - many dangerous - festooned the area - and there were rats a plenty at night. Government built a school and most kids got a fairly good education. Being close to the commercial areas like Mong Kok and factory areas like Wong Tai Sin provided work and the Queen Elizabeth hospital and various charity run clinics provided health care. Government provided some sanitation and (I think) the electricity company ignored the use of power. Most residents used it as a place to sleep and store stuff and lived like most HK people in the streets eating at cooked food stalls and using bath houses and the hawkers and the small shops on the south side. There wasn't much crime. Heroin smoking, the odd fight and illegal gambling casino. Street gangs were there (and all over Kowloon) but they were small fry bullying old ladies etc. Hope this helps!
THIS is what I love about RUclips; the people behind the videos! YT wouldn't be nearly as great if it weren't for the comments section.
Thank you all for your input about this fascinating megastructure!
That is so cool man thanks for sharing.
@@brandonstrickland8234 - In a way, the RUclips comments section is kinda like Kowloon.
I was just thinking, "lawlessness" and violent crime are NOT the same thing. From what I've seen and heard about the place, it was far less violent and scary than many large cities around the world (incl. the U.S.). In a strange way, the residents seemed to have a kind of respect for each other and their "home". While I absolutely would NOT have wanted to live there, I have to say I feel some respect for the people.
I'd honestly feel safer living here than in a place with a ton of police.
Agreed!
Uma favela no Brasil aí
I doubt it was true lawlessness. The citizens had to have some sort of internal system to keep that place going. I just found about this super interesting
That's exactly what I learnt from this. I don't see lawlessness and "evil" as the same thing. People can exist safely without formal laws, we just create our own code of conduct within a particular community. We actually do this in our own homes in everyday life. People seem to think that if there's no state-sanctioned organisation (police) present to control us, then anyone in that area automatically becomes a demon or something.
There's no other nightmare such as self taught dentist.
Nanda Pratama
self taught neurosurgeon
Well the first dentist ever was self taught
These were fully-educated, accredited dentists from China who arrived in Hong Kong but their accreditations was simply not recognized by Hong Kong
Self taught drug dealer
That's basically dentistry in the 1800s a lot of times the barber was also the dentist
I imagine getting lost and residents giving me directions in the form of riddles.
Lol!!
Thou shall not open door 155
Kcelloo: "Stop! Who would cross the bridge of death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see...what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"
I'm imagining something along those lines.😉
@@jenniferbaldini3527 An African or a European swallow?
Thou shalt wander the corridors thee, on a fruitless search for thy room key
In Brazil we call this a "favela". By growing up in the favela, under similar conditions to this video, I find the footage so familiar, it doesn't scare me at all, but it's also not the best place to live :(
Where is cav?
Hate that map
@@exloadjokejoke7446 i hate it too but i love cav
@@exloadjokejoke7446 me too
Rainbow 6
i dunno why but somehow the city emits nostalgia...
Right!! not sure why though
Yes!!! Idk it seems like I've imagined places like this (albeit nicer looking) as a kid.
It gives you that impression because it was the real-life representation of how 90's pop culture used to portray the futuristic and technologic but still lower-class areas in Hong Kong, a perception that has changed throughout the years as most of these predictions didn't come to fruition.
There is a Manga about this city, its called Kowloon Generic Romance, I read a few pages, so I dont know if they focus the story on the city.
@@well673 actually i came here because of that manga 🤣. I first knew about this city in an fps game, but never had an interest until i read the manga
“Self-taught dentists” yikes lol
I've heard these guys would only do minor work, if you had to have wisdom teeth extracted you would still need to go to a proper dentist.
Hmm yes I am somewhat of a self taught dentist myself
Ventus Jimmy Chase a bag, don’t worry bout what I’m doin
I'm a self taught surgeon.
Aren't all dentist is being tought by someone? 🤔😂😂
"Self taught dentists" three words that should never be together
😂😂😂😂
This indeed is a distressing word compound.
UP
It's funny how afraid normies are of people practicing medicine without a piece of paper from a university. What difference does it make whether you were an apprentice under a master for years or you paid 100k to take some classes? Clearly people were happy with the work they did because they were able to stay in business.
@@Glockmog2007 I'm pretty sure the "self-taught" dentists were just dentists who migrated to HK from the mainland and didnt have the proper paperwork for an HK dental accreditation.
They need to make an open world videogame but the entire map is a Kowloon-inspired city. Would be a very unique aesthetic.
Stray?
Need to see this happen
Shenmue 2 - "Am I a joke to you?!"
Granted, not the entire game.
But the bulk of the middle 3rd of it.
The Ascent
Welcome to Kowloon !!! (New Indie Game)
If you ever get a chance, read "City of Darkness" (Ian Lambert and Greg Girard). The walled city is indeed a weird chapter in Hong Kong history, but its reputation wasn't as bad as some people make it out to be. Hong Kong was a pretty cramped and nasty place for a long time and many people lived in squalor that was almost as bad as in the walled city. Towards the 80s, the colonial government invested heavily in infrastructure and housing and things got a lot better. The walled city remained an anomaly that was beyond the colonial government's jurisdiction, with time the gap between it and the rest of Hong Kong widened.
So much poverty surrounded by so much wealth. If the colonial government was in charge they "own" the problem.
Visiting the site of the Walled City was the highlight of two years in the mainland. A former resident made extra effort to welcome my wife and I to her former home, even though her English wasn't the best and the city had been gone for 25 years. Her hospitality forever won me over to the people of HK, and is part of why it is my favorite city in the world.
Same. This place is so interesting and I wish I could visit it.
Interesting how these folks we see going about their business are all dressed well...
Look up the Dandies in Africa...they live in WORSE conditions than this but they dress brightly and gaudy
Dandies are idiots. These folks (in HK) dressed w/n reason but save money for business, education, etc.
And the sappeurs
I noticed that, too. They are dressed tidy, neat and properly, not lavish or in shiny stuff. It only speaks highly of them.)))
not really suprising. poor people aren't savages
Imagine what the city would have looked like without the limit to its height because of the nearby airport.
now imagine no limit to its height and the never take down that city... it would be like a fallout shellter you know? XD
I would imagine if they had kept building much more, putting more strain on the buildings and existing structures beneath, eventually it would have collapsed in on itself. The height restriction was probably a blessing in disguise.
I moved to Hong Kong in 1990 and the kind of lifestyle the locals led was hard to ignore. My family settled in Kowloon for a short time before moving to Sha Tin and there were shanty towns all over the city crammed in between tall skyscrapers. It wasn't really an eye-opener as I had no preconceptions as an eleven year old.
Glad that RUclips has no smell-o-vision capabilities.
I think it is kind of a shame that it got destroyed, especially before the housing crisis in Honk-Kong was solved. I would love to explore this city once.
You don’t know what you’re saying
Cyberpunk ina nutshell
Needs more neon, bruh.
@@GGwithkamatis Still cyberpunk without it. As soon as it starts to rain, then y'all know what's up.
I.G. O.M. And have some soup noodles in there
The true praise should go to Greg Girard and Ian Lambot. Their book on the walled city, City of Darkness deserves nowhere near enough credit on documenting the walled city
Eli Egbert I agree in some way however I feel more like megacity one from Judge dredd series.Cyberpunk has an a bit more decent architectural environment compared to the Hong kong’s city of darkness.
If it still existed, coronavirus would have had a field day.
@@alainportant6412 you’re an idiot if you think that
@@Sam-nb2fg it's just a joke bro
@Vsatyk check stats on how fast it spreads and re read the comment
@@Sam-nb2fg The shutdowns are more dangerous lol
@@ssjbroly8735 💯
Walled City was a fascinating place but it was still necessary to demolish it, people deserved to live in better conditions
Exactly , HK started building the many new towns in the New Territories. Also the people who used to live on boats near Aberdeen moved to the new high rises
Which is why they had to literally bribe people in order to get them to move out? You don't think there was a reason it had the highest population density of any city ever by far? People wanted to live there to escape communist china so badly that they were willing to put up with the cramped living conditions. And those conditions were only a product of the fact that that was all the space the government was willing to allow them. If the chinese government were so concerned about the wellbeing of those people they could have just given them some more land so they could space out a bit. Or let them build taller buildings, they were only allowed to go 14 stories high because otherwise they would block the path planes needed to take to land at the airport.
I've read that some people were very upset about having to move out of the walled city for business reasons. Many people where able to set up shops inside the complex in order to avoid having to pay rent, license fees, tickets, etc. Leaving the walled city meant only making a fraction of the profits that they were currently making. Not to even mention all the gambling and vice establishments either... really the whole thing was like a libertarian paradise in a sense.
Better to be homeless than live in a slum with a roof over your head? Because for many that was the option: live in a slum but at least a place to call your own, or a box on the street....
Crazy. Would've loved to explore that place before it's was gone. Also see the old song dynasty fort before it was a city
Also: Latin America xD
Crazy how I got to see The Notre Dame then it got burned down the very next year
😁😁
I always kind of romanticized this place. It seemed to have a strong community where people knew each other, like a big family. There aren't a lot of places you can live where people have that kind of bond, or any bond at all in some cases.
The prospect of living without any sunshine feels extremely scary for me though
@@momoha222that explains why you don't sleep and fear the night away. Also, you probably don't blink. Blinking causes instances of darkness.
@@corediagram8016 Tf is your problem?
The interlocking nature of the buildings is so amazing. They are probably holding each other up.
Absolutely INCREDIBLE how everyone still looked so cleanly dressed.
You see that often if your travel in south east Asia.
I noticed that too, japanese too can be in tight cramped spaces and maintain clean
@@offdap7095 I used Waze to navigate around Manila and drive through a slum area where almost everyone was working and clean drying clothes were everywhere. The school uniforms were bright white and all kids attending school are immaculately turned out.
Manila Girl Tours has some fascinating videos as she walks through slums and you'll be surprised at what you see. People are happy, wear clean clothes and have pretty much all they need in their small area.
🤩🤩
I have been to the slums of Sao Pallo Brazil and that’s the closest thing to this as far as I have visited. Except that the “buildings” and I use that term lightly, were made of any materials that could be found. Impressive and horrible at the same time. About once every 5 years a fire or storm wipes it away and it just rebuilds itself.
I can't believe the Kowloon Walled City is real. I read some fantasy novel "The Walled City" by Ryan Graudin and it was so amazing
Imagine being a delivery man and you have package to deliver to this place 😲
I'd watch that anime
I’d watch that anime.
I'd watch that anime.
It would make a cool game.
I read that Kowloon had its own mail delivery system. Outside mail would be dropped at a specific point and then the internal mail system would take over to get it to the person it was addressed to. Some people's whole job was running around throughout Kowloon to bring people their mail. It also said that these people knew every passageway, nook, and cranny of Kowloon City.
fyi : this was the basis for Iron City in the film Alita Battle Angel.
It's a basis for a lot of futuristic and sci-fi movies, films, etc.
Wow never knew.
I’m sure lots of families did enjoy living there since it was their “normal”.
They didn't know anything better.
In every city on the planet; new and seemingly reliable buildings can go on fire, sometimes even partially collapse. I'm sure you know of examples in your town. It's a MIRACLE this place, unplanned and built and maintained by mostly amateurs, lasted long enough to be demolished.
Fantastic to be able to see this piece of history, thank you
What's the last animal you petted?
Hong Kong was cyberpunk before it was cool
A lot of cyberpunk stuff, including Blade Runner, was based on Kowloon.
Imagine living right in the middle of the bottom floor, how dark that would be
It's said it always looked like night at the bottom, since no light would shine through due to the multiple layers of stacked crude building work. Had the air traffic above (headed to Kai Tak Airport nearby, most likely) not complained about the height of the walled city and how it bothers the planes passing, they would've continued to build. The city still suffered extreme noise pollution for the last 20 years of its existence. This city is fascinating.
@@diamondcladskies5446 Depressing.
There was a hole in the center, right where ancient post office was.
This is what happens when a city skyline player gets a hold of actually building something
cities skylines*
@@hyljix a city** skyline** player
@@omarzerk456 Cities Skylines is a game. City Skyline is the skyline of a city, and he said player. So he meant the game.
@@hyljix Ok I thought you were correcting his grammar
This is what actually happens when a cluster of buildings is abandoned.
Once the last residents had left the city It was used to film parts of the 1993 Jackie Chan film 'Crime Story' before it was demolished.
Thanks. Great look back into one of the most fascinating places of our time.
Bloodz and cripz: I grew up in the projects.
Kowloon dudes: that's cute
Actually, this was much better than when I lived near there in 1960. There were no concrete buildings. It was all home made card board or plywood shacks inside the wall. It was a special zone that was not belonged to British, and no police jurisdiction.
Only the poorest lived there along with criminals. There were no toilet, electricity or running water. They must have torn down the shacks and built the buildings in the 60s.
Here because of Shenmue II.
And Black Ops.
And Bloodsport
The idea of a labyrinthine structure housing passageways, stairways, with many levels is inspiring and fun- it's a shame that the reality was
so much darker.
I used to live in a similar but not so dense neighbourhood in Mumbai until 1993 when I was 8 yrs old. I remember those days fondly. Even though now I live in a flat worth upwards of 200k USD. Those were awesome days.
Almost everyone looked so well-dressed, and also well-behaved. Astonishing to think it ever existed.
This is a 40k hive city. If there was a house fire...
Amazing. A secret martial arts competition called the Kumite and ran by the triads was held inside Kowloon's walled city for centuries. I wonder what happened to it...
I grew up and lived in Kowloon Walled City until I was 16.
I don't know exacly what was the structure condition of this "city", but I think it was a mistake to demolish it. With proper funding, this place could be used for many purposes, like film setting and tourism. This place was a masterpiece and inspired many cyberpunk/sci-fi works. I am certain that, in the comming decades, there will be endeavour projects inspired in Kowloon.
Worth at least $600m in land value and they can't afford to waste the space so it was redeveloped
Idk why but its so creepy but beautiful at the same time. Just wish it wasnt knocked down its so unique
Fascinating place. You can feel the buzz, the intense, concentrated energy it possessed, even thru old videos.
Amazing how crowded it was and never collapsed
Its fascinating for sure. Like a miserable masterpiece let alone the fact that those buildings were built so close to each other (without any proper architect oversee) and didnt manage to fall to my knowledge at least.
There was a huge housing estate in Manchester called Hulme. It originally housed 25 000 residents and was deck access. The families moved out as it was deaned a safety risk to children and became a similar kind of community. The police never entered and it was totally lawless, but there was a community and people supported each other. Similarly many were very attached to it and did not want to be rehoused. Like kowloon its reputation spread far and wide. A unique place. They even knocked several flats through to make one big one where there would be live concerts and the like. Very DIY.
This is what I imagine some cities/districts looking like 2000, 3000 years from now. It's so mesmerizing and dystopian.
I'm sad it was demolished, I've always had a fascination for it. I would have for sure visited, or even stayed there for some time.
Same
Try 150
You're sad dystopian slums were demolished?
🤩🤩
The minimal wind passing through makes me anxious
who's here after playing stray?
The fact that this cuty didnt have any plans of how it was created is reslly cool to be honest. They just built it over time. I really love how the developers in Splatoon 3 also decided to make thr hub resemble this city a bit with the tall buildings and ads
This was a phenomenal video.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It was created to keep the hordes of titans from attacking
Those of shadowrun would know the true feeling of kowloon walled city.
I love the aesthetics of this video and the buildings itself
I'm actually amazed it grew to that size without burning down.
Illegal,Anarchy,Post apocalyptic looking city?,
Everyone:LET ME IN,TAKE MY MONEY
watching this video makes me feel like the luckiest person on earth..☹its so scary
I would be super interested in 3d maps of kowloon walled city. Have attempts been made in 3D software???
Stray brought me here. Love the aesthetic of that game and was shocked to discover it's based on a real place (that no longer exists). I should have known tho since I love Blade Runner and that was also clearly inspired by KWC too
It’s like a scab. You can’t help but be disgusted by it and yet pick on it at the same time.
How did they know that everyone was safely evacuated before demolition started!? A strangely fascinating and compelling world within the world.
It reminds me of the sort of places I pictured when reading the sci-fi post-apocalypse novel Three. There's something fascinating and creepy about it at the same time.
Bru I can't imagine walking around here during midnight
First time I heard about Walled City is in game Shadowrun Hong Kong. In the game, the city will give your character and all of the npc a nightmare and its getting worse overtime. I couldn't believe it is real, lol.
I was there when my ship visited Hong Kong in 1990. We paid £5 each for a tour of the city and all ended up in the brothel area....
Came here because of orange stray 🥰
The views of the corridors and alleyways inside are hauntingly creepy.
imagine getting lost here-
it's not that hard situation, Kowloon was pretty small, so just go several minutes straight into one direction, and you just go outside.
You will be like , well I guess I live here now
my dad got his fake teeth here. he no longer wears them but still keeps it to this day as a reminder
This place fascinates me, like honestly of how strange but cool the place looks, also would LOVE to make this in mimecraft
I just talked to a guy who told me about when he was 11, living in Hong Kong, he would explore this place. I had never heard of it before, but I am amazed at how adaptive humanity is.
I hope they could interview people who lived there. It’s really interesting.
Health inspectors: where do I even begin?
i've been to place similar to that a long time ago in hong kong and at that time there's a strict rule where you need to turned the light off after 10 and everything is cramped. at that time we a single room that is about the same size as my own bedroom which is around 4x2.5m for 10 people.
I wonder how it compares with other citizen governed slum districts such as Brazil's Favelas. Is the only difference being that Kowloon was more physically constrained leading to buildings joining as a megastructure, are there indications of the organic growth of other slum districts developing in a similar fashion? I also wonder what elements they share with interconnected downtowns such as Houston's tunnel system, Montreal's Metro, or Calgary's +15/+30 system... Does there seem to be a critical mass in interconnected buildings for commerce and liveliness to take off?
This place seems so familiar to me but I was 13 when it was demolished and in lived Florida US. My soul has been to Kowloon.
I live in NY and when I've read and viewed the breakdown of how many more people per foot...whoa,I thought it was crowded here.
This is something that is simply put:mindblowing,dark yet amazing.
The old tenement buildings they tore down?
I'm addicted to videos about Kowloon. What a marvel of a place. Ghibli should do a film inspired by it. or a haunted mansion sorta movie.
An incredible piece of documentary
Looks like a great place to hold a secret international fight tournament for some reason.
Stray was inspired by this city
yeah, came here cause of their Wiki
Beautiful soundtrack.
Glad that you gave credit to Rob Frost
imagine playing assassin in there...
This is the most dystopian thing we have ever witnessed in history 😳
I remember it in the 1990s. It was a must see.
I fell asleep in bed watching this on my tablet and walked the halls of the walled city all night in my dreams.