Kowloon Citadel: The Most Abundantly Populated Place In The World That Barely Let Light In.

The Kowloon Walled City colony, located within Hong Kong. It was built without consulting a town planner, which makes this village with its nature so fascinating and perfect.

It was largely ungoverned but also the most populous with around 50,000 people in these building blocks. The city was like the Song Dynasty, its role was to manage and oversee the salt trade.

It was a place where refugees were looking for new homes and new buildings were built. The British did not rule it but it was completely under its own rules. Leung Ping-kwan poet, important cultural figure of the city described in his book “City of Darkness” the atmosphere of the city, a very complex place, scary but where most people continued to lead a normal life.

A sort of modern concrete labyrinth, you could walk from side to side without touching solid ground. Mismatched windows, caged terraces, metal bridges and small narrow alleys. The buildings could not exceed 14 floors due to the nearby Kai Tak airport. Only the center was an open space (yamen). this is where they got together to drink tea, watch TV and socialize.

Today, most of the walled city of Kowloon has been demolished by Hong Kong officials to turn it into a park. Tourists can visit them, walk on their rooftops and try to understand what was once there.