The Densest City In The World Had a Strange Secret...

Check out Fiona Hawthorne’s amazing book below:
Drawing on the Inside: Kowloon Walled City 1985

The research booklet is now available again, a new version!

Other Books and resources:

Kowloon large illustrated (1997)

Kowloon Generic Romance, Vol. 1

Additional Sources (please reach out if I missed something or someone)
Adolfo Arranz for South China Morning Post

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I'm Dami, a licensed Architect living in Vancouver, BC. I make videos about architecture, career, and creativity.

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#kowloon #hongkong #architecture

[DamiLeeArch]

We had to take down the original video due to a copyright claim on some of the photographs we used, but we’ve reuploaded it with enhanced graphics for an even better experience :) I was truly moved by how many of you reached out, especially locals who recognized their parents who lived in Kowloon Walled City. I hope you enjoy the updated version!

[DeepWater-rmvo]

My mother got to visit Kowloon walled city in 1989 while the ship she worked on was docked in Hong Kong. She said the word that came to mind when she experienced it was „Hive“. She went there because something on the ship had broken and every shop where she asked in Hong Kong proper told her if there is any place where she can find it, it’s there. She asked a guy in what to her appeared like a traditional Chinese pharmacy if he knew where she could get this part, and he took it and disappeared with it. Half an hour later, he resurfaced, and the part was repaired. It cost 10 HKS. She didn’t get to go deep into the city, but said that even then, it appreard like everyone in it was part of the whole, like Dami said, organism of this place. The guy in the pharmacy somehow immediately knew who could repair a ships radar shell cover. It was all connected in there, quite literally.

[Cbra_Commander]

Kowloon City is what I imagine a real-life "Cyberpunk" city would look like at the ground level. It what happens when a lower income and or lower social standing group of people, just have to figure it out and make it work. Nice vid Dami!

[THICCTHICCTHICC]

My dad lived pretty much right next to the Walled City in the 70s.
He never went inside because it was just a sketchy place to be. Lots of his friends explored it though, Fiona Hawthorne (the source of some of your photos) went to school with my dad.

[hawkeye]

I absolutely loved the first version, now its enhanced?! Cant wait! Wish Dami would narrate an audiobook!

[AnymMusic]

I'm honestly in love with Kowloon in a weird way. Cause yeah, obviously it was super dense and it basically being a lawless place, but that's what I love about it. It was a lawless hotspot, yet there was (a form of) order, business, entertainment and progress. The fact that, if the stories are to believed, a letter could be sent from one end of Kowloon, and end up fine at its designated address is incredible

[scubaguy]

how that place never burnt down is amazing.

[AseAPS]

Your videos changed the way I look at the world. I don't know how much higher praise I can give. Keep it up! :D

[tccandler]

To get a better visual idea of how Kowloon actually worked -- try watching TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN -- a 2024 martial arts movie that recreates the inner workings of the city. It is a pretty entertaining film too.

[LuxOgre]

I just broke my finger clicking on this video too fast. Also thank you for fueling my strange architecture addiction that you in fact gave me 😂

[squatch]

Dami, you have become the David Suzuki of architecture. Thank you for all your videos, you are a Canadian treasure.

[ratyjoona]

Phew...I was like where did the video disappear. As I liked to talk about it. Now it's back!

[interestedparty]

Kowloon walled-city has always fascinated me. It was large, imposing, but intricate, and most of all, bustling. It wasn’t beautiful to look at, and yet, I can’t stop myself from gazing.

[elizabethbottroff]

I missed the opportunity to visit. My ship stopped in Hong Kong. Because of watch and day work, my first time off of the ship was only a few hours in the day. We went back to the ship to drop off our shopping and to get ready for an evening out. My plan was to enjoy the nightlife that night, and to go to Kowloon the next day. Instead, I wasn't feeling good. My friends went out that night without me. By morning, I was really sick. I didn't leave the ship again despite four days in that port. A lot of us picked up a bug in the previous stop in Indonesia unfortunately. My time in HK was spent asleep, or watching the busy port, cities, ferries, and airplanes, from the ship's fantail. Early '90 was one of the last great years there. I'm bummed that I was too sick to explore. I still have my tourist souvenirs depicting the upcoming changeover. It was a memorable time to visit.

[akikleist]

Not only have you convinced me that architecture is amazing, but you are the sole reason that I have bought every volume of Kowloon Generic Romance as well

[feiyunslopebulletinboard]

Your flow is amazing, I feel such a strong nostalgia to a city I've never been to. And I'm left in a strange state, I'm defeated thinking about how my hometown has changed drastically and become sanitized comparing it to how you explained Kowloon changed. And I'm bearing the reality that my culture is losing it's character to a more artificial caricature due to governance and politics.

[Gromitwashere]

I think kowloon city is one of your best videos. I was so sad to see it disappear, so I'm relieved to see it back up.

[pihermoso]

Warhammer artists: we need inspiration
Kowloon city: say no more

[miradragonslayer]

I was in Hong Kong this summer and visited the garden they made to replace the Walled City. Beyond the fact that throughout Hong Kong there is a special, unique atmosphere, there is a partcular feeling in the Kowloon complex, as if you feel the history of that place even without knowing it. Hong Kong is a special place

[esotericmissionary]

Thank you for continuing to humanize Kowloon, since ever other video acts as if it was only a criminal haven. I would love to hear stories from the people that actually lived there.