On July 22, we walked through the Kowloon city, which before was a densely populated ungoverned area of Hong Kong. After the Chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave and now the New territories - Kowloon- was leased to the Britain in 1898. Now the government has demolished most of the walled city, and has re-built the Kowloon city tremendously. But on here I would also introduce the remains of the walled city which has now become a park.
Kowloon walled city park
The light and aerie park brings light into what was once an enclave of 'darkness' and all sorts of formidable activities. This park now houses remnants of the foundation of the former wall, foundations of the south and east gates, and a flag stone path next to the drainage ditch running along the foot of the inner wall. Other relics included three old cannons, stone lintels and couplets, and column bases.
EKEO
-Energizing Kowloon's east office
Connectivity ------ Branding ------ Design ------ Diversity
I think changing 'ignored public spaces' into meaningful spaces is the way further for any city's urban development. This indigenous firm contributes significantly to the prosperous city of Hong and their motto is the connectivity, branding, design and diversity.
The EKEO was inaugurated on 7 June 2012 to steer, supervise, oversee and monitor the development of Kowloon East with a view to facilitating its transformation into another premier CBD of Hong Kong to support our economic growth and strengthen our global competitiveness.
One could learn more about the office and how much work they put into the HONG KONGmunity by visitng their WEB page below.
The EKEO was inaugurated on 7 June 2012 to steer, supervise, oversee and monitor the development of Kowloon East with a view to facilitating its transformation into another premier CBD of Hong Kong to support our economic growth and strengthen our global competitiveness.
One could learn more about the office and how much work they put into the HONG KONGmunity by visitng their WEB page below.
The 'Projects' of Hong Kong
The 'projects' in the United States are low income public housing provided by the government, they can be found in the Bronx, New York. The same system of public housing can be found in Hong Kong, the only difference being that the 'projects' are more dangerous and less secure than the 'projects' of Hong Kong. Plus, most of the elderly people stay in these public houses, including those who cannot afford to provide for their families. Now these apartments are housed by one family only - this implies that , no matter how many people are in one family, they all share one apartment.
Photos below show a sample of one of those public houses, they also have community spaces like parks but with so many regulations like 'do not hang clothing', because of the system of spreading wet clothes outside there apartment for the sun to dry them up.
Photos below show a sample of one of those public houses, they also have community spaces like parks but with so many regulations like 'do not hang clothing', because of the system of spreading wet clothes outside there apartment for the sun to dry them up.
An Erasing 'Dai Pai dong'
The essence of the dai pai dong is to create a socialized community while downing food to satisfy hungry stomachs. But with the continuous development of the city, the are beginning to erase. Walking down central and seeing this made me realize I hardly see any of them in the city anymore.
Dai pai dong means "restaurant with a big license plate" and according to the Food and Environmental Hygiene department in Hong Kong there are 25 Dai Pai dongs left.
Dai pai dong means "restaurant with a big license plate" and according to the Food and Environmental Hygiene department in Hong Kong there are 25 Dai Pai dongs left.
The MEGA BOX
Walking round the new territories and observing the area, we went to the MEGA BOX. This is a large shopping center in Hong Kong located in Kowloon bay. It has the largest Ice rink in Hong Kong which measures about 26meters x 57 meters.
Accessibility to and from the mall is pretty good, being that it has a shuttle bus service, rom the mall and the MTR Kowloon Bay station. And also conveniently 10 mins from the station also by walking.
The MEGA BOX has four major zones, the IN-Style(G/F - L2), Better HOME(L3 -L5), Family Circus(L6 - L9) and EATertainment(L10 - L14 & L17-L18).
Accessibility to and from the mall is pretty good, being that it has a shuttle bus service, rom the mall and the MTR Kowloon Bay station. And also conveniently 10 mins from the station also by walking.
The MEGA BOX has four major zones, the IN-Style(G/F - L2), Better HOME(L3 -L5), Family Circus(L6 - L9) and EATertainment(L10 - L14 & L17-L18).
Kai Tak Cruise Terminal
After visiting the Mega box, and buying some indian cuisine for myself. We decided to have a picnic on one of the largest roof top gardens ive heard of in Hong Kong - the Kai Tak terminal. This terminal is located in the heart of Victoria Habour (at the south -eastern end of the former Kai Tak Airport runway), the views up there were fantastic, but it was kind of a wait time getting out of the terminal being that no one uses it as of the moment.
Now the location of this terminal is a big downfall for its operational benefits. "while the terminal is in the city, it's also in the middle of nowhere so you're totally dependent on the shuttle buses provided by the cruise company and taxis that choose to go there". Two incidences with the Queen Mary 2 - one of the world's largest ocean liner - and the Celebrity Millennium passengers occurred, and the incidence were similar to transportation. Most of the passengers dragging their very heavy suitcases, from a very tiring cruise couldn't leave the terminal as soon as they could because the taxis were taking too long to arrive, plus the volume of people present, the transportation resources where unable to meet up with that demand.
I believe that with time the situations regarding the delay of the terminal being opened for cruise ships would be resolved. its just a matter of time and thoughtful solutions to the problem at hand.
Now the location of this terminal is a big downfall for its operational benefits. "while the terminal is in the city, it's also in the middle of nowhere so you're totally dependent on the shuttle buses provided by the cruise company and taxis that choose to go there". Two incidences with the Queen Mary 2 - one of the world's largest ocean liner - and the Celebrity Millennium passengers occurred, and the incidence were similar to transportation. Most of the passengers dragging their very heavy suitcases, from a very tiring cruise couldn't leave the terminal as soon as they could because the taxis were taking too long to arrive, plus the volume of people present, the transportation resources where unable to meet up with that demand.
I believe that with time the situations regarding the delay of the terminal being opened for cruise ships would be resolved. its just a matter of time and thoughtful solutions to the problem at hand.
Mong Kok - Langham Place
We ended our day in Mong Kok. An area in Yau Tsim Mong District, Kowloon West. This area has both old and new multi-story buildings. A huge retail area on street level with bustling cars, buses, people walking as tourist, customers and sellers too. It's so busy at every point of the day, but at night time, it gets to its peak. It was described as the world's busiest district by Guinness World Records.