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Kowloon Walled City was known to be an anarchical and densely populated Imperial Chinese enclave within the confines of Kowloon City, Hong Kong.
At its peak, the city accommodated 33,000 individuals on approximately two hectares of land (the equivalent of two football fields), making it the densest settlement on the planet at the time.
It was a hurriedly thrown-together jumble of tiny flats, one on top of the other, with barred balconies glued onto the sides and connected by a jumble of wet, gloomy passageways. (Pretty crazy, right?) The remainder of Hong Kong went about its business as usual, seemingly untouched by the criminality and filth within the Walled City.
Its population grew substantially following the Japanese conquest of Hong Kong during World War II. Furthermore, it was ruled by local triads from the 1950s through the 1970s and had significantly higher rates of prostitution, gambling, and drug consumption.
The Hong Kong government declared its intentions to dismantle the city in January 1987. After a protracted eviction procedure and the handover of the enclave's de jure authority from China to Britain, destruction began in March 1993 and concluded in April 1994.
Kowloon Walled City Park, which encompasses the historic walled city, opened in December 1995. Some historical artefacts from the walled city have been preserved there, notably the yamen structure and fragments of the southern gate.
That is not all, though. There is so much more information on the internet that goes into great detail about its history and the ways in which people led their lives in such a compact place. It’s extremely fascinating, so do look it up!