Kowloon Walled City: Hong Kong's City of Darkness
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- čas přidán 25. 10. 2019
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Imagine, if you will, a city of eternal night. A place so intensely crowded that sunlight never penetrates its alleyways. Overhead, wires dangle from the ceilings. Neon signs fizz in doorways. All around you, 33,000 people are crammed into self-built apartments barely 10m square, while overhead great airships rumble through sky. Is this a vision from the future? The setting, perhaps, for some dystopian sci-fi novel?
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Source/Further reading:
Concise history of the Walled City: www.scmp.com/magazines/post-m...
(some history and accounts of a happier side): www.archdaily.com/800698/here...
Interesting documentary by the Wall Street Journal: • City of Imagination: K...
WSJ Interactive: projects.wsj.com/kwc/#chapter...
BBC footage from inside the Walled City at the time (1980) (good footage, but reportage focused on the negatives): • Kowloon Walled City BB...
Average US bedroom size: www.doorwaysmagazine.com/aver....
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That arcade in Japan no longer exists
5:42 your great british empire cant even conquer coronavirus. LOL. what a loser
20:33 why is the guy who built a replica of the walled city in a museum a "nut job" you are the nut job, you elitist a hole.
How many channels do u have your on everything! Or u just change the names?
@@itubeutubewealltube1 Ummm nor can China, so fun fun fun.
I walked around inside the walled city once in 1986 with a friend. The taxi driver who dropped us off told us it was dangerous and not to go in there but we went anyway. For fear of getting lost in there we walked one block in and travelled along that street which was no more than a metre wide. I remember passing a noodle business with the cook smoking a ciggy while pulling masses of noodles from a huge cooker. No work, health and safety to worry about. Same for the multiple dentist shops we passed all with old, slow speed drills. The sewerage, electricity and water supply were all in pipes suspended by wire just above our heads. There were electric lights, just bare bulbs, strung along above the street too as there was no daylight. When I looked up the sky was just a blue slit, at what looked like miles above. Waste water flowed out of the city from a big pipe at the far end of this street into an open culvert that I assumed emptied into the Kowloon sewerage system. We tried to find a way further in but were deterred by the darkness, leaking water from overhead and a complete lack of orientation to any landmarks with which to navigate our way back out. It was a great experience. No one hassled us or even took much notice of us. It seemed pretty safe to me. It was a scary environment though.
thanks for sharing your experience of the city!
I am deeply jealous.
This was fascinating to read, thanks for sharing
I just had to be the 100th like ! But your little adventure was cool too !
Now that’s travelling!
It's fascinating to read the comments of people's first-hand experience with the KWC. Around late 1993, a friend and I, both architecture students at the time, sneaked into the KWC while it was being demolished. Long story short, the place was like a giant 3D ant farm! We went through connecting buildings, explored rooms, looked at photos and stuff left behind (we didn't take anything, and made sure to leave things in their original places), and got a glimpse of how people could maintain normal lives in an abnormal environment. Our adventure ended when we unexpectedly reached the exposed face of a demolished wall of buildings, and got spotted by the site security guards. They ordered us down and frogmarched us to the site office, where we met with the boss in charge. He turned out to be the demolition project's Chief Engineer, who, after learning that we were architecture students, very kindly gave us a lecture on the (lack of) structural enginnering of the KWC and how the demolition was being carried out. He even handed out photocopied engineering notes for our learning benefits before shooing us away and telling us not to come back. 😅
That is absolutely amazing!
If you have any photos I would absolutely LOVE to see them since I want to see a closer up perspective of the city
Please tell me you kept those copies. Those notes could be really important historical documents. I'd recommend uploading them to archival sites.
Snuck in* you’d think as an educated person you’d at least be able to correctly write in the one language you communicate in. Sneaked lol
@@noobovsky420 you forgot to capitalize you'd.
Mind-boggling how they managed to organically stack apartment blocks vertically without the whole thing collapsing.
It's amazing the whole thing didn't just erupt in flames lol.
@@OldSchoolDudeGaming or flood
Now the Chinese streets even bend under them
Humans are resilient. Zoomers like to imagine that the world didn't exist before 2000 but humanity has been able to weather massive extremities in our time.
Japan as a civilization is itself a testament to how humans don't really care how adverse the environment is, we'll find a way to stack our rocks just fine
@@topogigio7031 what are you even talking about?? You make it sound like Japan has been forced to deal with a crap hand in life...
The fact that the architecture grew organically and on top of each other reminds me of that prehistoric village they found where you had to walk on top of different height roofs to get to the houses in the middle.
That sounds pretty whacky. What's the village called?
@@Waterspons Catal Hoyuk
@@kaicandoit thanks
@Hiraeth jobless
what village was this ? 😅
Two very normal words put together sound terrifying: "unlicensed dentist".
r-e-p-u-t-a-t-i-o-n
Erasmus the blasphemous “no health insurance” is a scarier phrase.
@Erasmus the blasphemous Rural Pennsylvanian here. Also, suffering from a untreated progressive illness even with insurance (because of finance issues). Only thing scarier than this, truly is having no health insurance. So yeah, you're dead wrong.
Look at all those chickens they’re powered by ignorance and moonshine so he’s kinda right.
Joking of course. Hopefully things get better for all Americans and all of America.
two normal words with different meanings by using just some quotations
Brain Surgeon
"Brain Surgeon"
I use to live about 15 blocks away from the Walled City when I was a kid and would always run around with my cousins and friends in that area. But my mom wouldn't allow me to cross the street onto the walled city side because she said it was a bad place. I would just look at it from across the street and never thought anything about it. Now that it's gone and turned into a public park. I wish I had taken a picture of it! I'll aways remember that place and the planes over head that were arriving into Kai Tak Airport. Every time a plane that had to abort the landing, they would power up the engines with a huge rumbling sound and my house would start shaking like it was a big earthquake! I will never forget it! Ahh... The memories of Kowloon City!
iczerone2000 OMG that’s amazing the history you lived! What memories you must have of that horrifying and fascinating place..to grow up in Hong Kong must have been something it was always a mysterious faraway land to me, everything we bought when kids was made in Hong Kong 🇭🇰! Id sure love to sit down with you and pick your brain for hours upon hours with coffee and cigs for me and you could have your things of choice.. my smoke magically wouldn’t bother you of course😉
@@kathyinwonderlandl.a.8934 Thanks! Honestly, I never really knew how nasty and bad that place was until I was older. Always thought of it as just a dirty old building and wondered why it was so tall. Every other building in the area was only 5 stories tall and all of a sudden, there's a giant building there. I was only told never to cross the street because it was lawless over there and someone might kidnap me. So, I always looked at it from across the street with my cousins. You're welcomed to pick my brain about it over coffee and smokes if you're ever in HK. 😉
I am going to side with mom on this, hahaha.
@@lovelessissimo Lol...
Did you ever meet anyone from the city?
As I was growing up in Indonesia, my grandma would occasionally bring me and one of my cousins with her on a trip to Hong Kong over the summers. My grandma had friends, relatives, and an apartment unit in Hong Kong, which were the reasons why she visited Hong Kong frequently. As it turned out, her apartment unit was in Kowloon Bay, which wasn't all that far from the Walled City.
On my first visit to Hong Kong in 1990, the first thing my grandma said to us was to never mistake the Walled City from Kowloon Bay, especially if we ever took the taxi (the MTR existed back then but wasn't as fully featured as it is now). The next day, she actually took us into the Walled City and it was kind of interesting having noodles in one of the shops inside the place. On this visit, she was visiting a friend who lived in the Walled City. Once in a while, we would pass pairs of people who look like they were patrolling the the place and they would greet my grandma very courteously. Years later, my grandma would tell me that those "nice people" were part of the Triad. Compared to the slums in Surabaya at the time, the Walled City was still an order of magnitude or two cleaner and safer (you don't have to worry about cars and motorcycles running over you).
I remember visiting the Walled City again in 1991 and there was this air of tension that didn't exist last time. In 1992, my grandma said that the Walled City was off limits and we could see the police out in force around the area.
In 1994, the whole place was gone. The irony of it was that earlier that year, The Lion King came out and there was this "everything the light touches is our kingdom" scene where my first thought was the Walled City when Simba asked about the shadowy lands.
I honestly don't know what to make of the Walled City due to my extremely limited interactions with the place. What I do remember is that the people there seemed happy, like they have a place they know they belonged to.
Isn't it funny how citizens govern themselves better that standard governments do...?
Thank you for your story, it really puts things in perspective.
This is an incredible description of your experience in Kowloon. I wrote a thesis project for my master's degree about the game Stray and how they based their design on Kowloon and I included your colourful comment in the paper. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing even your little experience is beyond my imagination. Wish I could see it! Hopefully VR comes out with a Kowloon replica game
@@dasha_fierceIdk if possible but would you mind sharing your thesis paper? Like a link to a document or something? It sounds so interesting!
The Triad in the walled city was nothing more the a bunch of honest politicians. Honest about everything they did.
For real. Probably better than most politicians.
So better than politicians then, it would be an insult to call the Triads there Politicians.
Great description! Politicians are just bull shitters and liars
Indeed. They didn't lie about what they did, because everyone knew it. Unlike today's politicians that are liars and cheats.
Elders . Not scumbag politicians.
I was the Royal Hong Kong Police Inspector briefly in charge of the Walled City around 1986. This is a very good portrayal of what it was ; a place I'll never forget.
We once saw an opium den through a crack in the wall and it took days to find our way into it. Acceptable public pathways went through peoples living spaces, lounges, toilets, small windows etc. Electricity was abstracted and often dangerous. There was a cannon beside the primary school right in the centre ; above which there was netting to catch all the discarded rubbish - often filled nappy's. The rats were the biggest I've ever seen. The dim sum was the best. The dentists used real teeth for dentures. The triads knew us and we them - there was a level of mutual understanding. The only other white faces were American Jehovahs witnesses. We used to watch drug dealers through binoculars operate in the nearby public housing estates from the roof while 747's flew into Kai Tak overhead so close that you could see the passengers faces quite clearly.
The people were extraordinary - but then the Hong Kong Chinese are. I still miss them.
cool
Ya that is cool, was you the inspector in the movie bloodsport?
Right on!
Cool, I had a pal who was in the Royal Hong Kong Police and he was shot during a drugs raid in an opium den. He had a bullet wound right through him. We met at RADA. I can't remember his name though. It was 30 years ago.
He was an officer. A posh English public school boy.
I wish you would write a book about your life and KWC. You have a gift for words.🙂
Personally, if love to talk to a kowloon mailman, I bet those guys have some stories to tell.
i dont thing they had mail in there
No mention of the brothels where my mother worked washing sheets. My father was a postman until 1989. I was only 13 when we moved to America in 1991.
Sergio Hernández Robla they did
@@amogus7277 he literally said so in the video
@@southbostongear629 yikes!
I am from Hong Kong and feel very surprised (positively) to see this video! Hong Kong is a small place and I thought no one paid attention to things like the walled city, which no longer exists. Usually people just talk about the skyscrapers and dim sum...
We also talk about your broken political system and the regimes social atrocities as well.
@@MasDouc Yes USA and British colonialism is horrible.
Worst countries in the world.
All the wars and genocide they started.
It is so awful that all inhabitant of those countries do think they are good without knowing that all their histories lie on lies and blood.
@@kevin-jd8if I’ve never seen someone with an English name type so poorly. I’m assuming you are Chinese using a VPN?
@@uhno5989 Oho I am assuming you are some uneducated child who think that every western countries only speak english.
I will teach your parents how to educate child properly son
@@kevin-jd8if so you are from a non-angloshere nation, but hate the UK and US. If you claim to be from the west, that must mean you are from European shithole or are a liar. So please tell me what country
As an Ozzy expat kid I used to walk through the lower alleyway whenever I could and as fast as I could trying not to get wet. When I eventually lost my fear it became an amazing place and my one regret is that I never went upstairs. But I used to spend hours on the nearby hill at the back of Mei Tung Estate watching the rooftops and voyeuring at people living their life in the sun and wind, as opposed to many below. When I went back to boarding school no one ever believed that such a place existed and that I'd seen and photographed the densest place on Earth. The city opened my eyes to poverty, resilience, drug addiction and adaptability and I'll never forget the dentists and their dentures or the small factories in the middle of the darkness. It's hard to believe it's become so mythical and now just a memory. It taught me about the dangers if human over population and what density can do to a human being. My photos are all that remains of a fascinating journey into the unknown and unbelievable. Thanks for the video. Just remember, only some of the city was a city if darkness! At its centre was light.
Do you still have the photos? I’d definitely want to see it.
please please share your photos with us please!
Yea I want those photos too pls share them with us so we can see a part of your memories
OP you should upload those photos! That would be amazing to see.
This is an incredible description of your experience in Kowloon. I wrote a thesis project for my master's degree about the game Stray and how they based their design on Kowloon and I included your colourful comment in the paper. Thank you!
Imagine being so disorganized that an organization of criminals feels responsible for the city.
(This was made for almost a year ago, if you have a problem with this. It will be ignored)
That is why one has to be careful with defining groups by one's own particular biases. One man's terrorist is another man's social services, education, and law. If you ask someone in, say, southern Lebanon if Hamas is a terrorist group, they would tell you that Hamas runs all their medical, education, and social services. Basically, Hamas is their local government much like the Triads were the local government in Kowloon Walled City.
Just like the drug dealers run some of Rio's favelas.
One could look at western police forces and not be able to distinguish between them and organised criminals.
@@abisspassenger exactly. It happens when state fails with its citizens.
Unfornatetly this is a reality for millions across the globe. And it's not just in the brazilian favelas.
I visited The Walled City in 1991 twice.
I remember the Temple in the first floor.
The cannons that are seen in the old pictures were still there I saw two on the side of one of these streets alley ways. When venturing down the ally’s or streets there was so much water coming down to the ground level from air conditioning or water pipes. The residents were nice enough and went about their business there were lots of noodle makers.
The only “ fear “ I had was the electric wires just everywhere and due to the amount of water coming down one had to walk close to the walls where those electrical wires were. My fear was getting electrical shocked 😳
I remember one shopkeeper who was living with his family invited us in and shared his drinks with us and we bought them drinks in return.
For me personally I feel very lucky to have visited The Walled City.
it good to hear that the people where able to stay good people while living in what is basical a model for a dystopia sci fy city they acted alot better then any of the hab blocks from judge dread thats for sure
Wilma Perkins I believe like most society’s on this planet no matter how large or small does have their own styles of stability. Technically speaking the entire Walled City can be looked at as criminal from a textbook point of view that it was all a illegal squatting on Chinese Government land with unregulated everything from buildings, electric, water, food products, dentistry, traditional medicine, drugstores or even gambling from my own personal experience and observation but that does not necessarily mean “ Lawlessness “
Community meeting were held regularly at the temple to govern the Walled City. Even HKG government officials were involved to help with mail service or where to pick up the rubbish outside for example. There was a neighborhood watch enforced the laws that were voted on by the community.
I found that the stereotypes of the Walled City were for the most part like most stereotypes to be false.
The biggest danger that the Walled City inflicted on “ outsiders “ was that it was getting too tall up to 15 floors in some areas with not lights on top. This was especially a problem at night when aircraft were landing at the airport. The HKG government biggest fear was a plane crashing into the Walled City on landing at Kai Tak airport.
By no means were the residents bad they were just a misunderstood.
It sounds like you were indeed lucky- as any of us are when we are able to witness or visit a time which we do not know is soon to end, and end forever. ~ I have done little traveling, but a generous friend took me to Puerto Rico a few years ago. We were only there a few days, during which he became abusive- but the island was beautiful. The hurricane would come later that year.
Thank you for speaking of your experience there. Very interesting.
That might not have been water bud!
My grandad built most of the buildings and were the biggest landlord in Kowloon Walled City before it was demolished. He used to tell me lots of stories about the place before he passed away last year.
Wow. KWC is proof that every home is special because it has the people we love.
What a fascinating history ,bet you heard some great stories . You should was write them down for posterity .
Hope he roasts in hell
Please share any information if you have any. i’m very curious about the construction of the walled city
I'm working on an old mystery of chinese seamen secretly deported from Liverpool uk in late 1940s leaving there families destitute , wives died believing they were abandoned as uk government hid what theyd done under the official secrets act .....China was in civil war so most couldn't go home ...im pretty sure many took up home in kowloon walled city... is there an ex residents group anywhere?
I lived in HK 1986-1991. We used to go to the walled city once in a while to hit a great char siew noodle spot just inside one of the entrances. You sat in the alley on folding chairs and ate on rickety tables. The food was great but there was about a 1/3 rate of ending up with a bout of diarrhoea. We ventured a bit beyond the restaurant a few times but it was so dark, so dirty, so narrow that we always retreated relatively quickly. The thing with the triads, both within and without the walled city, was that they were very secret and basically were only violent towards other criminals. Obviously the drug trade and protection rackets impacted non-criminals but there was an understanding between them and the police that if they kept their heads down and didn’t hurt normal working people they would be tolerated. Their administration of the walled city was admirable and very HK Chinese in that there was a resolute pragmatism to solving problems, plus a great respect for the elderly. For most people in HK at the time the walled city was a curiosity and a fantastically unique rarity of a tiny place that belonged to no country, plopped down right in the middle of some of the most disputed land on the planet.
I lived in the Ord Depot, San Po Kong and we'd often go to the walled city to eat. We'd be guided around it by a HKSC soldier who'd grown up there and had many relatives still living there. Good Times.
@Yummy Spaghetti Noodles and those woke inclusive liberals still have a way higher tolerance than those right wing conservatives
It should have been placed on UNESCO's world heritage list, because it was something that should have been preserved as a special cultural significant place
i agree but it was so huge and densly constructed without maintence from people living in it the thing would have started collapsing within decades it would have been feasable to at least perserve a block or two of it though
@@wilmagregg3131 a heritage area don't have to be uninhibited
@@frankhaugen huh didnt know that thought making it landmark basically ment no one could live there anymore like a natinal park but thats good to know thank you whats a good example of a inhibaited heritage site?
@@wilmagregg3131 Røros in Norway pops up in my mind, (being Norwegian :-P )
Why? It's a dystopian hellscape
Kowloon, The Walled City sounds like an area in Dark Souls
Except it is still in better shape than Undead Burg despite what it should have been.
It was in black ops
It's like blighttown or the gutter
it is actually the setting for Shadowrun: Hong Kong. I recommend that you try it out.
@@AMabud-lv7hy yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees that's what I clicked for :D salute, good taste comrade!
1:20 - Chapter 1 - A building outside the law
4:30 - Chapter 2 - A home for the homeless
8:15 - Chapter 3 - Life in darkness
11:05 - Chapter 4 - Organizing anarchy
14:30 - Chapter 5 - A transfer of power
17:10 - Chapter 6 - Death of a dream
Thanks man!
I actually own the book "City of Darkness" by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot - and the photography in there is the best inside look into Kowloon Walled City that you can get today.
Looking at those photographs, it's very obvious how strongly this city has influenced the Cyberpunk genre. I believe William Gibson even mentioned the city being an inspiration in some interview. Then there's of course the first Ghost in the Shell movie, which obviously took a lot of visual inspiration from Kowloon. The L.A. we get to see in Blade Runner shows a few similarities as well.
Do you remember how much you've paid for the book? I want to buy it but it's really expensive online. And I can't find a PDF version of it either.
@@REA.Design.Studio Around €350, if I remember correctly.
Being out of print, the book seems to be fetching ever increasing collector's prices.
You'll find a number of the photographs if you do an image search for "kowloon walled city" on google though.
Yep Fantastic book!
@@REA.Design.Studio research I just downloaded it
The Ghost in the Shell manga was started 5 years before KWC was demolished
I remember going there a few times for the food and other "pleasures" before it got torn down. An amazing place. But I see from the comments that some people are under the impression that it functioned completely independently from Hong Kong. It didn't. A lot of the residents commuted to work outside the walled city, all were considered Hong Kong residents and Hong Kong supplied the water and electricity - some of which was actually paid for. The only thing that made it different was that there was no effective law enforcement.
Also another reason why Beijing was so happy to see it go after 1989 was that it was a safe harbor for people fleeing the purges following Tienanmen square. Anyone who made it across the border could get lost in the Walled City, untouchable by both HK and Beijing forces until it was safe to emerge
When you put it that way... loosing that city was a shame. And I'd always wondered where the water and power came from. I guess I just figured it'd all been stolen.
Fascinating!
Can you recall any collapses of the architecture? It's hard to imagine in the absence of building codes that such a place remained standing. Amazing if so.
Look like it was amazing place to be just to witness what people would to without authority and police department
Peter KA that is very sad but of course the Commies hate people searching for true freedom.
Well this proves the statement "What some consider hell others consider home".
otherwise known as the planet Earth
@cristopher wong
The earth itself is hell for goody-two-shoes when you can see past the bs. Laws mean nothing when they are bent to suit the criminals in ivory towers, and morals are impossible to keep when you can be assaulted by a random person looking to eat. That doesn't mean they are worthless, but it is even harder to stay true to oneself.
No one said that shuudup!
I just played Stray which takes inspiration from Kowloon, and it's remarkable what a sense of community and closeness the inhabitants share. It was a dirty and unpleasant place, yet oddly calming and wholesome. Almost wanted to live there myself, I can imagine what people living in Kowloon felt
Fantastic game! And yes, it made me think of the Kowloon City.
Within 3 days you'd be begging to leave because the low light would trigger depression. They were raised with it, you weren't.
I learned a lot about ghosts and the paranormal from playing Pacman.
@@alligatorwithwifi6111 you do realise people were still moving in all across its existence right? I imagine if you're desperate enough, you'd adapt.
@@alligatorwithwifi6111 I was born in the dark
We always called it the ''Underground City''. I got a tooth filled there in late 1967 on 100 year old treadle drilling equipment. It took an hour. It cost me HK50...less than USD7. The filling lasted till 1979.
The food was varied because of student Tiananmen survivors came from many remote parts of the PRC. I worked in Central HK with a few people that lived there.
I took my son there in 1991 when he was 9 years old That was the last time I was in the Underground City. He wasn't impressed...no big toy shops.
I was 16 years old when I first travelled to Kowloon with my good friend, Ryo Hazuki. You would not believe the amount of street fights and gambling he got into..
Is this a plot to an anime 🤣
@@Lanteader Its a game called Shenmue
Yes.... wanna play a game of lucky hit
God damn i miss dreamcast.
I'm dying!! Best series in gaming hands down.
When you realize that even the triad needed society to exist harmoniously to benefit from it, you question how your own government is any different.
Crime is only crime when there is law overseeing it. Devoid of law, the organized become said law, because even those who work beneath the law require infastructure to function. It just so happened they had the means and the persistence to establish it.
Things like the rule of law and civil rights would be a starting point.
Considering the whole thing started because of the Opium wars...
Governments are often termed “roving bandits”. In the past where there were no governments, the strongest people would team up and go around pillaging villages. But soon they realised it is more profitable and sustainable to just tax the villages in a form of “protection cost”. They settle down and became the “rulers” since they were the strongest. They defend against invaders and sometimes attack to expand their territory in order to increase tax income. As time passes, these evolved into what we now know of as governments. There are several literature about this.
Exactly
In the late 1970's and early 1980's my friend and I would go into the KWC at the age of 14 and buy fireworks and firecrackers. These were illegal in Hong Kong but easy enough to buy in KWC. Back in those days HK$5 would buy you 2 large shopping bags of goodies. We lived in Sai Kung (a small fishing village at the time) and would let the fireworks off and then be chased by the police. Good times. The narrator was right about the food. The 'Dai Pai Dong' stalls sold some of the best fish balls and squid I have ever tasted.
My dad did his national service inhong Kong and said kowloon Fort was an unbelievable place .....people were squashed but it was a vibrant place always busy .....and the street food was incredible
Understandable it needed to be dismantled but I was so sad to learn it was no longer in existence when I first learnt about the place a few years ago.
Such a interesting piece of architecture organically grown into existence yet due to the limitations in it's footprint not a boring favela like slum, more like a human hive.
In a decently ran universe the walled city would've been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you want another, similar, experience look up the Pillars of Creation.
@@lolroflroflcakes what, the nebula?
It's insane what humans are capable of when they adapt to a certain environment. Honestly they very likely could have left it alone and continued to let it prosper as a living example of human perseverence and inginuity. But alas, I also can't deny it was a bit of a risk.
Tf is wrong with you?? Its a GOOD THING its gone.
@@clayxros576 a "bit"', huh?
The multilevel ecumenopolis of Coruscant in Star Wars is also based on Kowloon City. George Lucas has always been fascinated by the historic and cultural aspects of Asian culture that oftentimes seem alien and incomprehensible to Westerners. Primarily, he loved the idea of his galaxy's capitol being an empty promise; a masquerade hiding the ugly truth beneath it.
At first glance Coruscant is the flourishing crown jewel of the Galactic Republic. In truth, the ultra technologically advanced and enlightened society on the surface is a thin veneer masking the squalor 95% of it's population lives in beneath the gleaming spires of it's surface levels. Lucas loved the symbolism of a civilization who never addressed it's fundamental flaws or considered rebuilding itself from the ground up, but one that instead fell into a neverending ideological tug of war between light(Jedi) and dark(Sith). A civilization in a repeating cycle of overthrowing the previous ruling class and erasing them from history by covering up and building over them.
The levels on Coruscant now stretch upwards for several miles above the planet's natural surface, and it's lowest levels are subarctic in temperature and choked in total blackness as a result of no sunlight reaching it.
George Lucas lifted Coruscant directly from Asimov's Foundation books. There are interviews where he talks about it. The main square of the planet is Trantor square, Trantor being the name of the world city in Foundation. Is Memphis, Tennessee America's attempt to understand Egypt?
I was there in summer 91, and there were billboards all over the city showing the union jack being panted over by the CCCP flag.
That part made me sad. With all the protests against the government happening there now, it's exactly what I feared even as a 20 something then.
I detest Socialism/Communism. It leaves everything in ruins..... sad.
In the game Shenmue 2 you actually find a partial reproduction of Kowloon, based on photographies taken by the director yu Suzuki. In that game you do interact with people and stroll through buildings... it was a quite interesting experience. I didn't believe that place actually existed until I read about it some years ago. That game also reproduces parts of Hong Kong in nice detail... which end 90s beginning of 2000s was not really heard of.
Even in the Shenmue anime too
I was always fascinated with that city growing up. I was 10 years old when it was demolished and was actually kind of sad to know it was being town down. I always thought it was a neat place and thought it would have been a cool place to visit.
I agree, it sounded like a paradise away from conventional living.
While watching Jackie chan’s movies , I always thought it was a normal place to be. Thats how the Eastern society is ; its normal to live with many people under the same roof and now in 2023 it feels surreal that these places existed.
I am a Hong Kong citizen and live nearby Kowloon Walled City, sadly the location becomes just a boring public park now.
It's a decent public park though. Visited a few years ago, including the small open air museum dedicated to the Walled City. The mall right next to it is very boring though. Hong Kong has great public parks compared to most other countries.
Truth !
Aw that’s lame. Thanks for the input though!
So, a place where you can still poop and pee?
Ka Wang Kwok Me too. Boring public park but a good place to smoke up 😂
I would love to see a digital 3d recreation, to be able to explore the whole thing, like a game level. Come to think of it, many ruins and "lost cities" would be great to explore with WSAD. The pyramids, sphinx temple, chitzen itza, teotihaucan, skara brae, pueblo bonito, battleship island, Mesa Verde...
You should make one, the idea and enthusiasm are there!
"Tourism" to places that no longer exist - as well as fictional places that never existed in the first place - seems like a perfect match for VR.
Closest one I've seen so far is CoD Black Ops' level set in it
The VR game Contractors also has a Kowloon based map. Narrow alleys and stairways, restaurants and small apartments with broken walls that lead to other apartments and hallways etc.
Very fun to play it.
Paranormal HK is a horror game that takes place in Kowloon
Another pop culture item to add to this list : Final Fantasy VII, that came out 5 years after this. It has slums under a big plate that blocks the sunlight, where the richer people live, and a walled off place where the people who rule the town gave up on controlling anything, it's ruled by criminals, walled off, and is called "Wall Market". The remake of this game that came out in 2020 has a really colourful Wall Market too. I never really noticed the parallels until now.
This city is in the movie blood sport. It's one of the few movies that have actual footage of the city before it was demolished. I love those opening scenes in Bloodsport, it's like your walking down the alleys of the walled city. Totally awesome city, I wish it was still around.
This sounds like it would be an interesting setting for a zombie movie. Walled off, cramped, with endless twists and turns.
It plays a big role in the game "Shadowrun: Hong Kong".
This is already an inspiration for many movie settings, including Ghost in the Shell, Ready Player One and Blade Runner.
Resident Evil 6 has a level like this with giant snek.
Black blood brothers
One-eyed Owl I was looking for a reference to that
I'm actually in the process of writing a miniseries about the Walled City of Kowloon that traces its origin as a Manchu military camp to its development into a high rise slum in colonial Hong Kong over the course of the 20th century. It would be a mix of Deadwood and The Wire exploring the politics and dealings that goes on in there from all levels of society from both Chinese and British perspectives.
Please let me know when you are done. This sounds amazing.
I would seriously love reading/watching something like this.
That actually sounds super interesting.
I’m intrigued by this ! Would love to know more . Will be looking out for your research!
Yo I'd watch the hell out of this. The very concept of Kowloon has always been incredibly fascinating to me, how humans can exist somewhere so dark and dangerous yet so wholesome and connected at the same time.
When you give people the freedom to choose whatever they want, it's amazing what can come from seemingly untamed chaos. The people of Kowloon would most likely gladly take their skyscraper homeless shelter over anything Britain or China could offer.
This is weirdly fascinating to me... It reminds me of an anime series I once watched (which was more bright than this but it still had the same tiny slums built on top of each other) and there the community was also blooming and glad to live like that. This also feels strangely futuristic to me. Such a dystopian world looks like a possible scenario for our future.
"Protesters waved Chinese flags"
What a change of events
Just about every country on earth has had some sort of protest in it's history?
Nah, protest like that is common during every regime. Not only during CCP but also during colonial government, early colonial Hong Kong wasn't really good British always thought that they're colonial master so they treat Chinese or others as second class citizen, UNTIL few last year. They probably doing those "political correctness" it to erase bad memory of early colonial years and save British and crown from bad news.
@@SoulDuckling126 From what I remember, the British in the last years of Hong Kong tried to reform it hoping that when they left, Hong Kong would want Britain back... And it worked except Britain didnt want the hassle lol the reforms happened because of the British Governor there and I guess he hoped Britain would try harder to keep Hong Kong. Either way the plan worked because they experienced more liberty and freedom than the average Chinese and it will be hard to revert them back.
Haha i mean there's only so much propaganda, censorship and BS people can take
I mean they completely deleted the tiennaman square incident from history to stifle free speech and democratic options, and pump out so much propaganda even in shitty transformers movies haha, showing hong kongers hoping to be rescued by the amazing mainland, it's bleak
@Timothy Dexter Do you know how many muslims live in the England? Just over 2.5 million and make up only 5% of people living here and if we're talking about immigration here then Polish people are Britains biggest migrants with India a close second and Pakistan a not so close 3rd.
A further interesting fact, if you're from the US which I'm assuming you are then your muslim population is 3.5 million which just makes up just over 1% of the population but the interesting thing here is that 25% of the muslims are converts and so you have a lot more white muslims where you're at.... 24% are white in fact, second highest ethnicity is white with black being first at 25%. Tells me that American whites are converting to Islam rather than Islamic people moving there which is predominately the case in Britain. The average Brit isnt that religious, only the old and dying go to church here and a lot of younger muslims here are converting to this ideology of Atheism while the US is a very religious place so good luck with your transformation of becoming a part of Islam lol idiot.
Well now you’ve gotta do a video on the favelas
For those not familiar with the word favelas is Brazilian Portuguese for the slums in and outside of Rio de Janeiro
Sebastian Duran , yeah, there and in Caracas Venezuela. The two slums resemble each other. I was there in the 80s.
@@wayupnorth9420 There's one near my city in Romania too.......:))..... Still would love to see how the Brasilians would try to demolish that without bloodshed :)
Krom1hell , must be a crazy place to live. I can’t imagine being that close to that many people.
@@wayupnorth9420 The police somewhat doesn't go inside there.... and it's situated outside of the city limits.
Favelas at least look nicer than our slums.... But then they showed just the nicer part of the city :D.
City's safe as safe can be, but then a friend had to deliver some things at night there, because "Winter is coming!" :)), and he was happy to get out with the car intact :)) (and bits out of it not stollen.
I love your channel! You cover so many of my favourite topics and thoroughly. Great work!
Excellent video as always Simon. I used to see this place, from outside I must add, when I lived in Hong Kong for a few yrs, the whole of Hong Kong is a fascinating place, the people there like no other. I was 12 when we moved there my dad was in the RAF, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the place.
Kowloon Walled City is so damn Iconic, even California is starting to adopt the look and feel of it under freeways and parks!
😂😂
*_uh oh_*
Big oof.
I was born here and so anyone trying to move here can get tf out and go ruin oregon some more
😂😂😂👍
Sorry to let you all know, but that arcade in Japan closed this month (Nov 2019). I got to visit once... it was awesome.
I was lucky enough to arrive in Japan and visit just days before it closed. Definitely a unique experience that I'm glad I didn't miss.
It did?! I was just there last summer! I'm glad I got to see it before it closed.
I too visited it a few years back, really neat experience. Anata no Warehouse
This guy is great. The info is more in-depth, very interesting and delivered very well. Thanks guy. Yeah I subscribed
that was the video of kowloon i wanted to see. thank you 🙏
*I guess Coruscant hasn’t been looking well recently*
This and Coruscant are legitimately the same concept
Lancaster Responding except make it 5000 layers and covering the entire planet, with an official population of 1 trillion but more likely 2-3 trillion
@@marcusbordeaux7548 Ahem...
At Coruscant's stated size (Diameter of 12,240 km), if it had the same population density of Manhatten it would have around 12.2 trillion people. At the population density of Kowloon, it would have a population of 564 trillion.
My head canon says that Coruscant is a very small planet with about 1/50th the surface area of Earth, (but a dense core for gravity). At about 2.44 trillion it would have about 10X the population density of Manhatten or about 42% the population density of Kowloon.
I'm thinking if about 3/4 of the planet averaged about 5X the average levels of Manhatten and the remaining quarter that we see around the Senate and Jedi Temple was around 25X that would be more like the Coruscant we know. Nowhere near 5,000 levels but a lot more than 14.
(note: I watched this video specifically to take these notes.)
If Coruscant was really as big as cannon, had 5,000 levels and each was as crowded as Kowloon the population would be just over 200 Quadrillion.
It also gives me cyberpunk 2077 vibes
11:45 ''But, still , criminals gonna crim.''
When the subtitles say something different to the host and its hilarious.
Asmo no like he was A RAPPER!
Kowloon Walled City, a very real life inspiration for places like Hive Cities and Underhives (Warhammer40k) Mega Cities (Judge Dread) or just parts of Night City (Cyberpunk2077). Loved this video, was very interesting to find out peoples favorite dystopian futures out there are closer to real life then we thought.
This is still one of my favorite videos. Nicely done, sir.
Imagine the walled city except with more advanced technology, hell even the tech we have today. It would basically be Night City
Lit with LEDs
clan_of_zimox Cyberpunk city
It wouuld fit perfectly in Cyberpunk 2077
Look up Shadowrun Hong Kong, it's exactly that.
It'll be a mega city then. Which are kinda like those giant buildings in dredd.
"Human Hive" could be a death metal band.
there's a sludge-doom metal band named 'Kowloon Walled City'
It’s a song by a metal band who’s name I do not remember
Or a faction in Alpha Centauri
@@musyarofah1 Great band
Geographics kicks arse. Love this channel.
In the 80s I was a young Marine Corps 1st LT. and I walked all over Kowloon. I didn't even know what the walled city was but I did go there to eat many times. Yes, I even remember how dark it was. Great Video. I just learned something I should have learned years ago. As a side note. Ned Kelly bar was my favorite in Kowloon.
Extremely interesting. Got to say I wish would had the opportunity to see it, because in its own way it is apart of history.
No, it's a part of history. Quite different.
@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 grammar nazi I see
Yeah woulda been interesting to visit, maybe stay awhile🤣🤣🤣
@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 I didn’t want to be the grammar nazi, but I was hoping someone did.
In answer to your signature closeout, "And, as always, thank you for watching," I say, thank you for presenting such clear and detailed pictures of places like Kowloon Walled City. Places I have never even heard of before and would never have known anything about if it wasn't for you and your team, Simon. *salute*
I knew about this city and I've heard about it several times before this video. Except, no one else gave as much information about it as this video did.
This is one of my favorite videos, young Simon.
You do a superb presentation. I love that you don't babble or repeat thoughts. I've subscribed so I don't miss the next ones.
The book “Chasing the Dragon” is a great biography of a missionary that worked in the Walled City. It’s an encouraging story of how hope prevailed in such a desolate place
a grumpy monkey amazing I will look for this book 👍🏼
'chasing the dragon' was a term for opium/heroin usage there
That sounds super fascinating, thanks for the tip. Sometimes it's impossible to really learn a place unless it's from an outsider.
wym desolate
@@soulfly3438 desolate of hope. I’ve spent days in such areas as this. Poverty is horrible and there are few ways to escape. Some ways you can escape with your morality. Such is the way of this fallen world
This is a place I would love a long running drama about
Try "fist within four walls". It's a chinese show that takes place there. And like most chinese cinema, it tries to entertain everyone, so there's drama, comedy, romance, kung fu, tragedy, suspense, communism, etc.
Thanks! That sounds great.
Reminded me of Big Trouble in Little China
Yes like a weekly drama of some sort. Itd be really interesting.
Poor people porn
Simon!!!! I just found these!! Excellent 👌😉
This is fascinating! Thank you.
"Kowloon" sounds like a slang word for the mad cow disease.
Very good.
It actually reads as Nine Dragons, which sound even cooler
@@cz2301 I bet it was hard getting those dragons to leave!
1stPCFerret you bet! One or two would’ve been way easier haha
sounds similar to dog cage in Cantonese though
I've been to the site today. Now it's a very pleasant park. There's a small museum about its history, otherwise it's hard to imagine such an insane place once existing there
Was it insane? Or are you insane? Think about that for a moment.
@@danielduncan6806 why not both?
@@WeirdExplorer .....u really do justice to ur profile name ....👍
Hey it's the man himself, cool seeing you here
@ Weird Explorer
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Did you have a chance to stop and see the *scale model* of the Walled City located in the park?
▪︎▪︎▪︎
I can't imagine all those people living, loving, working and dying in such a small City.
I appreciate information you provide.
The original Ghost in the Shell comes to mind, particularly the sequence where the Major walks around in a city, pondering her own existence, and sees another woman in a restaurant or cafe bearing a striking resemblance to herself.
this is one of the locations i wish i was old enough to visit when it was still around... sad it was torn down when i was a year old
Why? So you could gawk at people being poor? Lol it was an extremely poverty-stricken and overpopulated slum, not an aesthetic art show
@@joserea4019 because i'm jealous of the photographers and journalists who covered it and tried to bring the attention of the world to it, it was never about making myself feel good about my position - stop being offended on the behalf of others with your "holier than thou" attitude
There is a place in Denmark that is somewhat like this. It is a "free state" inside the citylimits of Copenhagen named: Kristiania. It is a former militarybase that was occupied in the 60's and is still around today. You should make a video about that! :)
whole sweden is a hippy state
I've been to Kristiania, though only somewhat briefly. It's a really cool place, fascinating history. I'm always amazed by these tiny, independent places that manage to exist outside of "normal" society.
Kinda like saying Beijing is like Austin Texas because they both have police officers. heh
Um, Kristina is really lovely, open and surrounding a beautiful lake. Where's the comparison here?
atlaslex the comparison is both are independent communities operating within a mainstream society.
Great job on the ads. Would like to see more. Thank you so very much.
great video, thank you!
that’s the first place i went to visit when i travelled to Hong Kong. i spent days making my way around all the alleys. incredible.
"Games: Call of Duty"
Completely ignoring the whole of Shenmue II takes place inside Kowloon, recreated in photorealism.
@@brucesmith765 "Photorealism is a genre of art in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium."
Shenmue was done using this exact design method. The textures were literally taken from photographs.
There's also a PS1 game called "Kowloon's Gate". It has a SCI-FI theme, making Kowloon look more like Blade Runner.
"Shadowrun: Hong Kong" also features Kowloon, but I guess rather just as a fiction than a real recreation.
Well, roughly half of Shenmue II takes place there, and it takes a LOT of liberties with the real-world city. It's far more open and easy to navigate, and in the game, it's situated alone on top of a hill rather than being directly next to Hong Kong. The "Kowloon" in Shenmue 2 is more inspired by the idea of Kowloon Walled City than an attempt to accurately recreate the place.
More people know cod
i like these videos more than the lists because you talk in a calmer way
Quite interesting. Thank you for sharing !
This is one of those stories that gives you a good feeling and brings back some measure of hope in humanity... The fact that Kowloon City could come to exist. Built out of what the normal authority would consider to be filth and trash.
The fact that it was functional to boot. You wonder how the bickering morons currently on the tv and in charge could be the same species who made a COMFORTABLE life out of a literal garbage pile. When they're gone the human race will persist beyond them, because they're gone. That petty thought makes me smile.
@Elliot Eichelmann the people having said children don't think that far ahead unfortunately.
@Elliot Eichelmann it wasn't as bad a place as you think.
The modern world is incredibly superficial and stressful. In a dystopian world, nobody gives a fuck about anything but food, shelter, and water. Simplicity leads to happiness
@@dickbutt7854 yes it was lol it was horrible
Human resilience is real
Having some Call of Duty: Black Ops flashbacks here
Dragovich, Kravchenko, and Steiner...
First thing I thought of when I saw the title. That mission was fun.
He's done this and rebirth island 😂
"We can do this all day, we got plenty of windows."
@@brennanvilcheck9469 "Or you can give us what we want and we'll guarantee your safety."
While I was in the military I went to this place in 1983 .. was a great party place..any drug you wanted..any "thing"you wanted you could get in this place...my shipmate went with me...I didn't do drugs he did..I drank..he stayed...for 5 days.. in an opiate den..I had to go find him...in order to get into some areas you had to be invited...so obviously we/I got an invite...you can travel that entire place without ever touching the ground...had to fight going in and coming out..was rough...I would tell people about this place, I'm sure they thought I was crazy...then I see this video..about this place...hmmm.. memories..
I recall an SCP based off of this structure known as “The Architect.”
SCP-184
I love how Simon and his team are picking really specific and cool places for this channel, they know what to prioritise.
Why is this demonitised?! Seriously CZcams, I would like a real answer...
Because its political and has to do with history. That shit scares advertisers
Winnie the pooh holds the coin purse of the west
Or something like that
History is dangerous to modern narratives
You can't talk about china
Somehow I still got ads... are they pocketing the ad revenue?
love this video... watched it dozens of times
Good job brother!!
The Vitamin D deficiencies that would be there lol...
Definitely. But rickets were the least of their problems. Can you imagine the rats, fleas and tuberculosis?
Let's not forget mold
Just take it in pill form
Im a ginger, apparently we don't need much sunlight to produce vitamin D. Why we mostly pale I suppose.
@@joshrubio6417 Yep. You guys get your Vit-D from your food. I wish I had that trait. I don't think you get Vit-D at all from sunlight.
My mother grew up in Kowloon in the 1960s. Our family house faces the reservoir which back then was just a stream. We had lots of light but our neighbours behind us don't get much sunlight, even today. It's definitely very different living.
*For clarification it's a different area of Kowloon I'm talking about.
they tore it down years ago
Lmao
r/thathappened
@@augustcannon it's a different area of Kowloon that I'm talking about. God forbid you judge a culture and a place you've never been to. The walled city mentioned in this video clearly doesn't have a stream or a reservoir.
I know that all too well, I grew up within about half of an hour walking distance from the Walled City and the old Kai Tak Airport site (To Kwa Wan) in the mid-1970s, and had visited within that vicinity at least once or twice during the 1980s.
Well done. Well done!
Very intelligently and well presented. Thanks!
I cannot believe I have never heard about this place! Fantastic video as always Simon, thanks.
Yes! I was hoping for an episode on this. Fascinating place!
Great video, I knew nothing about KWC. But this needed at least a brief picture and map of what is there now!!
i learned something today thx !
I wish i could have seen this before it was destroyed
Magic mushrooms? Beware of the death cap mushroom! It will kill you, but it takes weeks.
@@scotthenrie5674 what you on about??
Scott Henrie read your comment and tell us all how it makes any sense
@@youthmanrecords965 No doubt!! I just saw for the first time. Must gave been some good mushrooms!!
"We can do this all day, we have plenty of windows"
Nice Weaver quote from BO:1 dude!
@@ryanspalding875 I love the little easter egg in this scene, Hudson keeps telling Mason, while on the menu, to tell him everything he want and in exchange he'll guarantee his safety. He says exactly the same thing to Clarke
@@tavarix5893Clarke: "I'm already a dead man. I've been hunted across every corner of the globe..if you found me so will they, they know everything you know they're probably on their way now!"
*BADASS ROOFTOP MUSIC INTENSIFIES*
Good work, 47!
You have taught me so much thank you
Awesome video! I feel like you guys really shown light on the humanity of it and its inhabitants rather than focusing on the crime and how cramped it was. There was so much beauty in the mess of it and it's a little sad to think it's not still there.
Im so glad I stumbled upon this video. Im always eager for new information on the Walled City, having been introduced to it shortly before it was destroyed. It absolutely fascinates me, thank you for the video!
Those old pics of the kowloon fort are amazing.