Kowloon 198761 224191845 2008-07-07T19:07:33Z Para 578997 /* External links */ redundant map link removed {{Infobox Settlement |official_name = Kowloon |native_name = 九龍/九龙 |nickname = |motto = |image_skyline = Hong Kong Kowloon.svg |image_caption = Map of Kowloon District |image_flag = |image_seal = |image_map = |map_caption = Location within Hong Kong |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_km2 = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_km2 = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |County_sq_mi = 2870 |population_footnotes = {{Fact|date=February 2007}} |population_as_of = 2006 |population_note = |population_total = 2,019,533 |population_density_km2 = 43033 |population_density_sq_mi = |timezone = [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] |utc_offset = +8 |footnotes = }} {{otheruses4|an urban area in Hong Kong, China}} {{transliterationof|Kowloon|九龍|九龍 (disambiguation)}} {{Chinese|t=九龍|s=九龙|i=kɐʊ<sub>35</sub> ləʊŋ<sub>11</sub>|y=Gáulùhng|j=gau2 lung4|p=Jiǔlóng|l=''Nine [[Chinese dragon|dragons]]''}} '''Kowloon''' refers to an urban area in [[Hong Kong]] made up of [[Kowloon Peninsula]] and [[New Kowloon]], bordered by the [[Lei Yue Mun]] strait in the east, [[Mei Foo Sun Chuen]] and [[Stonecutters Island|Stonecutter's Island]] in the west, [[Tate's Cairn]] and [[Lion Rock]] in the north, and [[Victoria Harbour]] in the south. It had a [[population]] of 2,019,533 and its population density was 43,033/km² in 2006. Kowloon is located north of [[Hong Kong Island]] and south of the mainland part of the [[New Territories]]. The peninsula's area is approximately 47 km² or 18.1 mi². Together with [[Hong Kong Island]], it contains 48% of Hong Kong's total population. The more accurate transcription '''Kau Lung''' or '''Kau-lung''' was often used in derived place names before [[World War II]], for example ''Kau-lung Bay'' instead of [[Kowloon Bay]]. ==History== [[Image:Victoria City and Kowloon 1915.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Kowloon in 1915]] The name Kowloon came from the ''nine dragons'' represented by eight peaks and a Chinese emperor: [[Kowloon Peak]], [[Tung Shan (mountain)|Tung Shan]], [[Tate's Cairn]], [[Temple Hill]], [[Unicorn Ridge]], [[Lion Rock]], [[Beacon Hill, Hong Kong|Beacon Hill]], [[Crow's Nest (Hong Kong)|Crow's Nest]] and [[Emperor Bing of Song|Emperor Bing]]<ref name="Fallon">Fallon, Steve. [2006] (2006) Hong Kong and Macau. Lonely Planet Publishing. ISBN 9812582460</ref> [[Image:HK East Kowloon View2007.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Buildings in East Kowloon]] [[Image:Lionrock.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Kowloon (including New Kowloon) is an area bounded north by a mountain range. [[Lion Rock]] in the middle is a peak among the range]] The part of Kowloon south of [[Boundary Street]], together with [[Stonecutters Island]], was ceded by [[Qing]] [[China]] to the [[United Kingdom]] under the [[Convention of Peking]] of 1860. For many years the area remained largely undeveloped, used by the British mainly for [[tiger]]-hunting expeditions. The part of Kowloon north of Boundary Street ([[New Kowloon]]) was leased by the British as part of the ''[[New Territories]]'' in 1898 for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is the Kowloon City, which refers to an [[list of areas of Hong Kong|area]], where the [[Kowloon Walled City]] used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in 1993. The same area was called 官富場 ([[Hanyu Pinyin|Pinyin]]: ''Guanfuchang'') during the [[Song Dynasty]]. In modern day conversations, however, [[New Kowloon]] is often not regarded as part of the [[New Territories]], but as an integral part of the Kowloon urban area on both sides of Boundary Street. For rates tax purposes, New Kowloon is not considered part of Kowloon. Properties in New Kowloon are subjected to pay the land leases as those in the New Territories. Large-scale development of Kowloon began in the early 20th century, with the construction of the [[Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation|Kowloon-Canton Railway]] and the [[Kowloon Wharf]]. Due to Kowloon's close proximity to [[Kai Tak Airport]], building constructions were limited by flight paths. Compared to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon resulted architecturally in much lower skyline.<ref name="Fallon" /> After [[World War II]] Kowloon became extremely congested when [[slum]]s for [[refugee]]s from the newly established [[People's Republic of China]] gave way to [[public housing estate]]s, mixed with private residential, commercial and industrial areas. West Kowloon was once home to a dockyard for the [[Royal Navy]] and is now used as a typhoon shelter. On [[July 1]], [[1997]], both parts of Kowloon were transferred to the [[People's Republic of China]] along with the rest of Hong Kong. ==Administration== [[Image:UnionSquareview 20070829.jpg|thumb|230px|[[List of tallest buildings in Hong Kong|Skyscrapers]] in [[West Kowloon]]]] It comprises the following [[Districts of Hong Kong|districts]]: *[[Kowloon City District|Kowloon City]] *[[Kwun Tong District|Kwun Tong]] *[[Sham Shui Po District|Sham Shui Po]] *[[Wong Tai Sin District|Wong Tai Sin]] *[[Yau Tsim Mong District|Yau Tsim Mong]] ==Politics== Kowloon covers two geographical constituencies for the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]]: *'''Kowloon East''' includes [[Wong Tai Sin District|Wong Tai Sin]] and [[Kwun Tong District|Kwun Tong]] *'''Kowloon West''' includes [[Yau Tsim Mong District|Yau Tsim Mong]], [[Sham Shui Po District|Sham Shui Po]] and [[Kowloon City District|Kowloon City]] ==See also== {{commonscat|Kowloon West}} {{Commonscat|Kowloon}} *[[New Kowloon]] *[[West Kowloon]] *[[Boundary Street]] *[[Nathan Road]] *[[Argyle Street, Hong Kong|Argyle Street]] *[[List of areas of Hong Kong]] *[[List of mountains, peaks and hills in Hong Kong]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.westkowloon.hk The West Kowloon Cultural Village website - NEW PROJECT!] *[http://www.legislation.gov.hk/blis_ind.nsf/0/ab9adcb3dd7e876e48256648002f6f16?OpenDocument Cap 1 Sched 4 Area of Kowloon] {{coor title dm|22|19|N|114|11|E|}} {{Hong Kong}} [[Category:Cities, towns and villages in Hong Kong]] [[Category:Kowloon| ]] [[Category:Coastal cities]] [[de:Kowloon]] [[es:Kowloon]] [[fr:Kowloon]] [[zh-classical:九龍]] [[hak:Kiú-liùng]] [[ko:주룽]] [[it:Kowloon]] [[he:קאולון]] [[lt:Kaulunas]] [[nl:Kowloon]] [[ja:九龍]] [[no:Kowloon]] [[pl:Koulun]] [[pt:Kowloon]] [[ro:Kowloon]] [[ru:Коулун]] [[simple:Kowloon]] [[fi:Kowloon]] [[sv:Kowloon]] [[zh-yue:九龍]] [[zh:九龍]]