Kowloon Peninsula
Encyclopedia
The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula
that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong
. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon
are collectively known as Kowloon
.
Geographically, the term "Kowloon Peninsula" may also refer to the area south of the mountain ranges of Beacon Hill
, Lion Rock
, Tate's Cairn
, Kowloon Peak
, etc. The peninsula covers five of the eighteen districts of Hong Kong
. Kowloon Bay
is located at the northeast of the peninsula.
The peninsula has been significantly expanded through land reclamation
from the sea, over several phases. In the south and west most of the reclamation was carried out before 1904. Reclamation in several other small areas along the main Tsim Sha Tsui
waterfront was completed by 1982. The West Kowloon Reclamation
was formed as part of the Airport Core Programme
and largely completed by 1995.
boundaries, the Kowloon Peninsula served as one of the first destination for escape during China's dynastic times. In 1287, the last emperor of the Song Dynasty
, Emperor Bing
was fleeing from the mongol leader Kublai Khan
. Taking refuge in a cave in the Kowloon peninsula, the inscription wrote "Sung Wong Toi" or "Song Emperor's Pavilion". In the 17th century, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty
, many of the Emperor
's followers also found shelter in the Kowloon peninsula to hide from the Manchu
s.
Historically speaking, Kowloon Peninsula refers to the ceded territories of Kowloon
in 1860 as part of the Convention of Peking
, but geographically it covers the entire Kowloon south of the mountain ranges of Lion Rock
, Kowloon Peak
and other hills. Kowloon Peninsula was described by the British to be uninhabited when the British empire ceded the territory in 1860.
In 1898 a resolution was passed by the Colonial Hong Kong
Legislative Council
to preserve the land where some of the caves stood.
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon
New Kowloon
New Kowloon is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak...
are collectively known as Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and 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...
.
Geographically, the term "Kowloon Peninsula" may also refer to the area south of the mountain ranges of Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill, Hong Kong
Beacon Hill is a hill in the Kowloon Tong area of Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula. It is the 65th highest hill of Hong Kong. It is 457 m tall.Beacon Hill is located within the Lion Rock Country Park.-Name:...
, Lion Rock
Lion Rock
Lion Rock, or less formally Lion Rock Hill, is a famous hill in Hong Kong. It is located between Kowloon Tong in Kowloon and Tai Wai in the New Territories, and is 495 metres high...
, Tate's Cairn
Tate's Cairn
Tate's Cairn is one of many mountain peaks in Hong Kong. The peak is 583 metres in height. It is a member of the Kowloon Ridge and within Ma On Shan Country Park.The name is used by a tunnel that travels under the peak...
, Kowloon Peak
Kowloon Peak
Kowloon Peak or Fei Ngor Shan or Fei Ngo Shan is a tall mountain in the northeast corner of New Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in Ma On Shan Country Park. It is crossed by both the Wilson Trail and the MacLehose Trail. On the lower slopes is Gilwell Campsite, belonging to The Scout...
, etc. The peninsula covers five of the eighteen districts of Hong Kong
Districts of Hong Kong
The Districts of Hong Kong are the 18 political areas by which Hong Kong is geographically divided. Each district has a district council, which was formerly known as a district board. The districts were established in the early 1980s, when Hong Kong was under British rule...
. Kowloon Bay
Kowloon Bay
Kowloon Bay is a bay located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is the eastern portion of Victoria Harbour, between Hung Hom and Lei Yue Mun...
is located at the northeast of the peninsula.
Geology and reclamation
The main rock type of the peninsula consists of a medium grained biotite monzogranite with some fine granite outcrops, part of the Kowloon Granite http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/about/organisation/klk.htm. Early maps and photographs show flat, low-lying land behind the beach of Tsim Sha Tsui Bay with a raised area, Kowloon Hill, in the west.The peninsula has been significantly expanded through land reclamation
Land reclamation in Hong Kong
Land is in short supply in Hong Kong, and land reclamation has been conducted there since the mid-19th century.-Projects:One of the earliest and famous project was the Praya Reclamation Scheme, which added 50 to of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction...
from the sea, over several phases. In the south and west most of the reclamation was carried out before 1904. Reclamation in several other small areas along the main Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui , often abbreviated as TST, is an urbanized area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim Sha Tsui...
waterfront was completed by 1982. The West Kowloon Reclamation
West Kowloon
West Kowloon is a part of Kowloon, Hong Kong situated within the Yau Tsim Mong District. It is bounded by Canton Road to the east, Victoria Harbour to the west and the south, and Jordan Road to the north. Further to the north, the area extends to Tai Kok Tsui to the west of the West Kowloon...
was formed as part of the Airport Core Programme
Airport Core Programme
The Hong Kong Airport Core Programme was a series of infrastructure projects centred around the new Hong Kong International Airport during the early 1990s...
and largely completed by 1995.
History
Prior to the establishment of the actual KowloonKowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and 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...
boundaries, the Kowloon Peninsula served as one of the first destination for escape during China's dynastic times. In 1287, the last emperor of the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, Emperor Bing
Emperor Bing of Song
Emperor Bing of Song was the last emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty of China. He was also known as Lord Perpetual-Nation ....
was fleeing from the mongol leader Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
. Taking refuge in a cave in the Kowloon peninsula, the inscription wrote "Sung Wong Toi" or "Song Emperor's Pavilion". In the 17th century, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, many of the Emperor
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
's followers also found shelter in the Kowloon peninsula to hide from the Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
s.
Historically speaking, Kowloon Peninsula refers to the ceded territories of Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and 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...
in 1860 as part of the Convention of Peking
Convention of Peking
The Convention of Peking or the First Convention of Peking is the name used for three different unequal treaties, which were concluded between Qing China and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.-Background:...
, but geographically it covers the entire Kowloon south of the mountain ranges of Lion Rock
Lion Rock
Lion Rock, or less formally Lion Rock Hill, is a famous hill in Hong Kong. It is located between Kowloon Tong in Kowloon and Tai Wai in the New Territories, and is 495 metres high...
, Kowloon Peak
Kowloon Peak
Kowloon Peak or Fei Ngor Shan or Fei Ngo Shan is a tall mountain in the northeast corner of New Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in Ma On Shan Country Park. It is crossed by both the Wilson Trail and the MacLehose Trail. On the lower slopes is Gilwell Campsite, belonging to The Scout...
and other hills. Kowloon Peninsula was described by the British to be uninhabited when the British empire ceded the territory in 1860.
In 1898 a resolution was passed by the Colonial Hong Kong
Colonial Hong Kong
In the 19th century the British, Dutch, French, Indians and Americans saw Imperial China as the world's largest untapped market. In 1840 the British Empire launched their first and one of the most aggressive expeditionary forces to claim the territory that would later be known as Hong Kong.In a few...
Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
to preserve the land where some of the caves stood.
See also
- Boundary StreetBoundary Street[[Image:Boundary st hongkong.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Boundary Street near [[Kowloon Tong]]Boundary Street is a three-lane one-way street in [[Kowloon]], [[Hong Kong]]...
- KowloonKowloonKowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and 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...
- New KowloonNew KowloonNew Kowloon is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak...
- List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong
- Islands and peninsulas of Hong KongIslands and peninsulas of Hong KongHong Kong comprises the Kowloon peninsula and 263 islands over 500 m2, the largest being Lantau Island and the second largest being Hong Kong Island. Ap Lei Chau is one of the most densely populated islands in the world....