The Disappearing East Kowloon
For many years, East Kowloon was the battery that powered the Hong Kong torch. Everywhere you looked stood an industrial building that
housed thousands of minuscule workshops and a handful of small to medium sized factories and garment mills. Just across the road, you
would find the tenement blocks and housing estates that the workers called home. Tiny and dark, the flats were barely fit for humans, but
they were cheap and they were the place where most of Hong Kong’s current population grew up…
It has already been a while since the last transistor radio plant moved north across the boarder and, soon, these early public housing estates
will be gone too. Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate is to be evacuated by September 2009 and the government has recently announced a mega-
redevelopment project for Kwun Tong. God only knows how long Ngau Chi Wan will remain…
This morning walk from Choi Hung to Kwun Tong is, therefore, pretty much the last chance to experience a little of what life used to be like for
many Hong Kong’ers.
To get a really authentic start to the day, we will be joining the locals and their pet birds for a (light) semi-al-fresco dim-sum breakfast on the
edge of the old parts of Ngau Chi Wan.
Next, we mix it up with house-wives and maids in the bustling market nearby before traversing Ping Shek Estate to reach the smoky, but well-
maintained, "Kings of the 3 Mountains Temple".
Sadly, we then have to walk along the very busy Kwun Tong Road for some 10 minutes before we reach Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate.
Completed in 1967, the 7 remaining blocks of the estate's Phase II still hold 5000 flats but are just about to be demolished to make room for
an upgrade. However, we should be able to walk through some of the old buildings to get a feel for the place.
Just a stone-throw away, we get to see what awaits the tenants of Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, when we pass the cloud-tickling sky-
scrapers of the new Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate…
Beyond Ngau Tau Kok, we get to Kwun Tong. Originally known as Kwun Fu Cheung (官富場), Kwun Tong was a tract of salt-pans where
imperial government revenue was generated through the production of salt and the collection of taxes from salt producers. In the 1950’s
Kwun Tong developed into one of Hong Kong’s main industrial areas, but with the decline in manufacturing many factories have been torn
down and replaced by gleaming steel and glass office towers. Avoiding these soul-less revamped factory estates, we wander aimlessly
around the soon-to-be-gone residential and commercial centre of this busy neighbourhood instead, checking out markets, shops and
transport hubs. The crowds could be great but, despite the grime and degradation, it is generally a genial and good-humoured place…
Kwun Tong is well-served by public transportation, so everybody should have an above-ground alternative to the MTR to return home…
For many years, East Kowloon was the battery that powered the Hong Kong torch. Everywhere you looked stood an industrial building that
housed thousands of minuscule workshops and a handful of small to medium sized factories and garment mills. Just across the road, you
would find the tenement blocks and housing estates that the workers called home. Tiny and dark, the flats were barely fit for humans, but
they were cheap and they were the place where most of Hong Kong’s current population grew up…
It has already been a while since the last transistor radio plant moved north across the boarder and, soon, these early public housing estates
will be gone too. Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate is to be evacuated by September 2009 and the government has recently announced a mega-
redevelopment project for Kwun Tong. God only knows how long Ngau Chi Wan will remain…
This morning walk from Choi Hung to Kwun Tong is, therefore, pretty much the last chance to experience a little of what life used to be like for
many Hong Kong’ers.
To get a really authentic start to the day, we will be joining the locals and their pet birds for a (light) semi-al-fresco dim-sum breakfast on the
edge of the old parts of Ngau Chi Wan.
Next, we mix it up with house-wives and maids in the bustling market nearby before traversing Ping Shek Estate to reach the smoky, but well-
maintained, "Kings of the 3 Mountains Temple".
Sadly, we then have to walk along the very busy Kwun Tong Road for some 10 minutes before we reach Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate.
Completed in 1967, the 7 remaining blocks of the estate's Phase II still hold 5000 flats but are just about to be demolished to make room for
an upgrade. However, we should be able to walk through some of the old buildings to get a feel for the place.
Just a stone-throw away, we get to see what awaits the tenants of Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, when we pass the cloud-tickling sky-
scrapers of the new Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate…
Beyond Ngau Tau Kok, we get to Kwun Tong. Originally known as Kwun Fu Cheung (官富場), Kwun Tong was a tract of salt-pans where
imperial government revenue was generated through the production of salt and the collection of taxes from salt producers. In the 1950’s
Kwun Tong developed into one of Hong Kong’s main industrial areas, but with the decline in manufacturing many factories have been torn
down and replaced by gleaming steel and glass office towers. Avoiding these soul-less revamped factory estates, we wander aimlessly
around the soon-to-be-gone residential and commercial centre of this busy neighbourhood instead, checking out markets, shops and
transport hubs. The crowds could be great but, despite the grime and degradation, it is generally a genial and good-humoured place…
Kwun Tong is well-served by public transportation, so everybody should have an above-ground alternative to the MTR to return home…
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| ... exploring Hong Kong's other side... |
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