A long walk through Kowloon

Today I met up with my friend Grace and we traversed a huge chunk of Kowloon, from Wong Tai Sin to To Kwa Wan. Saw many interesting cultural and historical sights along the way.

First stop was the Wong Tai Sin Temple, where people come to pray and have their fortune told.


Then we walked to Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen, which is the last walled village in the Hong Kong/Kowloon area. It's surrounded by a thick wall, used to keep out enemies and wild animals. It is scheduled to be demolished soon, which is a pity.

This is the entrance:


This is a typical street in the village:


The address signs are simply written:



We met an old lady wandering around looking for her turtle. She finally found it and started showing and telling us how hard it is to raise these brazilian turtles. I managed to take a picture of the inside of her house, where 4 little kids were playing mahjong. It's not really so different from a regular cramped HK apartment. This is just the living area, where the bathroom and kitchen are in a separate compound down the street.


There were these beautiful red flowers all over the street outside the village.


Then we went to the Kowloon Walled City Park. This was formerly the ultimate Sin City, being the only place in Hong Kong not under British Rule. Neglected by China, it turned into a haven for criminals and drug-users, and the Hong Kong Police were unable to enter it. Finally, the British and the Chinese agreed to evacuate and demolish it, and it transformed into this park.


Next we went to Song Wong Toi Park, where the last Song Dynasty King, pursued by Mongol troops who had taken over the country, fled to Hong Kong and rested on this rock. He commited suicide shortly afterwards.

Our final stop was the Cattle Depot artist commune, which used to be a slaughterhouse. Now it functions as studios for many artists and performance groups, and holds many exhibitions in its space.