Kowloon

九龍; Kowloon
	Kowloon
	Kowloon
Coordinates	22 ° 19 ′ 0 ″ N , 114 ° 11 ′ 0 ″ E Coordinates: 22 ° 19 ′ 0 ″ N , 114 ° 11 ′ 0 ″ E
Basic data
Country	People's Republic of China
Special Administrative Region	Hong Kong
ISO 3166-2	CN-HK
surface	46.9 km²
Residents	2,257,393 (2016)
density	48,101.3 Ew. / km²
	Panorama Union Square, ; West Kowloon (2010)

Kowloon Peninsula

View from Tsim Sha Tsui , Kowloon to Hong Kong Island

Kowloon as seen from the peak at night

Kowloon ( Chinese 九龍 / 九龙 , Pinyin Jiǔlóng , Jyutping Gau ² lung ⁴ , Yale Gáulùhng - "Nine Dragons") is an urban area within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the People's Republic of China . The region essentially comprises the Kowloon Peninsula north of Hong Kong Island ( 九龍半島 / 九龙半岛 , English Kowloon Peninsula ). In Kowloon about 30.6 percent of Hong Kong's population live on almost 47 km² and with 48,101.3 inhabitants / km² it has the highest population density in Hong Kong. The number of the population is 2,257,393 inhabitants (as of 2016). In terms of area, Kowloon is the smallest region of the Special Administrative Region next to Hong Kong Island with 80.7 km² and New Territories with 978.7 km². The Kowloon region should not be confused with the associated administrative district Kowloon City District ( 九龍城區 / 九龙城区 ), the Kowloon City district ( 九龍城 / 九龙城 ) and the Kowloon Walled City, which was demolished in 1993/94 .

Origin of name

Nine Chinese dragons

The name "Kowloon" comes from the last emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Bing , who fled to what is now Hong Kong. Standing on a mountain, according to legend, he said to his companions: " I see eight dragons ". From a geomantic point of view, he meant a mountain group of eight peaks and their foothills ( 龍脈 / 龙脉 , lóngmò , Jyutping lung ⁴ mak ⁶ ). These eight mountains or mountain ranges ( 山脈 / 山脉 , shānmài , Jyutping saan ¹ mak ⁶ ) are now known collectively as the "Kowloon mountain group" ( 九龍群山 / 九龙群山 , Jiǔlóng Qúnshān , Jyutping Gau ⁴ lung ⁴ Kwan ⁴ saan ¹ ). One of his remaining mandarins said, “ I see nine dragons. “The ninth was the emperor who stood before him, because the dragon is a symbol of the emperor in Chinese culture .

The dragon is the only mythical creature in Chinese mythology and astrology that contains elements from nine different animals. The number nine is the number of the emperor according to the Chinese number symbolism . “Nine dragons” means “ gaulung ” in Cantonese ( traditionally : 九龍, simplified : 九龙). The name "Kowloon" is a place name in Cantonese pronunciation according to English writing conventions.

geography

Kowloon is bordered to the east by the Lei Yue Mun Strait , to the west by the settlement of Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island , to the north by the mountains Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock (Lion Rock Hill) and to the south by Victoria Harbor . The commercial center of the district is the main artery Nathan Road , which runs in a north-south direction . The Tsuen Wan Line subway runs directly through Kowloon.

The promenade around the “Kowloon Public Pier”, the “Space Museum” and the “Space Theater” in the very south of Salisbury Road is popular with tourists because of the nightly light show on the skyscrapers of the Hong Kong Island skyline .

The East Kowloon Corridor is an important thoroughfare .

administration

Apartment blocks in Kowloon

Kowloon comprises the following five districts :

Kowloon City District :
- Ho Man Tin
- Hung Hom
- Kai Tak
- Kowloon City
- Kowloon Tong
- Ma Tau Wai
- To Kwa Wan

Kwun Tong District :
- Cha Kwo Ling
- Jordan Valley (Hong Kong)
- Kowloon Bay
- Kwun Tong
- Lam Tin
- Ngau Tau Kok
- Sau Mau Ping
- Yau Tong

Sham Shui Po District :
- Cheung Sha Wan
- Lai Chi Kok
- Sham Shui Po
- Shek Kip Mei
- Stonecutters Island
- Yau Yat Chuen

Wong Tai Sin District :
- Diamond Hill
- Lok Fu
- Ngau Chi Wan
- San Po Kong
- Tsz Wan Shan
- Wong Tai Sin

Yau Tsim Mong District :
- Jordan (Hong Kong)
- Mongkok
- Prince Edward (Hong Kong)
- Tai Kok Tsui
- Tsim Sha Tsui
- West Kowloon
- Yau Ma Tei

politics

For the election of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , in short: " LegCo ", Kowloon is divided into two electoral districts :

Kowloon East ( 九龍東 / 九龙东 ):
- including Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong

Kowloon West ( 九龍西 / 九龙西 ):
- including Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City

history

The Kowloon Walled City ( chin.九龍寨城, cant.九龍城寨), a Chinese exclave that had been transformed from a military fort into a slum over the years, was located in Kowloon . The former Kai Tak International Airport was in Kowloon.

traffic

Sights (selection)

Harbor City
Kowloon Park with the Hong Kong Museum of History
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Hong Kong Science Museum
Hong Kong Space Museum
Avenue of Stars (Hong Kong)
New World Center
Kowloon Railway Station
Bird Market
Innovation Tower

Educational institutions

Web links

Commons : Kowloon - collection of images, videos and audio files

Hong Kong: Kowloon Walled City - the last labyrinth ( Memento from January 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), perspective 89, Anja Krieger, September 23, 2007
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Term “ Longmai ” 01 龍脈 / 龙脉 (Chinese): http://www.zdic.net/c/9/37/84983.htm , on zdic.net, accessed on June 21, 2018 - Online
↑ Term “ Longmai ” 02 龍脈 / 龙脉 (Chinese): http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000067186 , on dict.revised.moe. edu.tw, accessed June 21, 2018 - online

[Longmai_01-1] Term “ Longmai ” 01 龍脈 / 龙脉 (Chinese): http://www.zdic.net/c/9/37/84983.htm , on zdic.net, accessed on June 21, 2018 - Online

[Longmai_02-2] Term “ Longmai ” 02 龍脈 / 龙脉 (Chinese): http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000067186 , on dict.revised.moe. edu.tw, accessed June 21, 2018 - online