Heritage Tour｜Peeping into the vicissitudes of the walled city from the rocks

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The Kowloon Walled City was built as early as 1847. The most familiar image of the walled city is the hotbed of crime that gradually took shape after the war.

In 1992, the British Hong Kong government used sledgehammers and bulldozers to demolish the unregulated and dangerous buildings in the Walled City. At that time, a granite plaque with the words "Nanmen" and "Kowloon Walled City" engraved on it was discovered at the original site of the South Gate, and the remaining foundations of the city wall, stone streets, etc. were also unearthed one after another.

Other cultural relics include three cannons, stone beams, couplets and column bases, which have also been preserved. During World War II, in order to prevent the stone plaque from being destroyed by the Japanese army, the people removed it and buried it underground in the walled city to preserve it.

The former South Gate site is now listed as a statutory monument. Before visiting, you can not only reminisce about the past, but also get a glimpse of the living environment of more than 30,000 low-income people in the walled city during the "no man's land" era from the steel and concrete buildings left behind.
There are many strange-shaped rocks in the park. Among them, the Guibi Stone is located next to the Kuixing Pavilion, which symbolizes the return of the jade intact to Zhao and the return of Hong Kong to China. The original type of this stone is called "Taihu Stone", which is a top-grade stone. After searching online, it turns out that this stone has four major characteristics: "transparent, thin, wrinkled, and leaky". "Transparent" means porous, "thin" means angular, "wrinkled" means varied, and "leaky" refers to the tortuous and exquisiteness of the hollow holes in the stone.

Unfortunately, there were too many photos that day and I was unable to take a closer look. I will definitely visit the Walled City again someday if I have the chance!
In addition to the above ancient stones of historical value, this place also uses stones as walls. After passing through one stone wall after another, you can reach the inner wall of the former city. Although the stone walls are now made of huge stones and are not as solid as they used to be, the symbolic meaning is the same.

With "stone" as the main theme, the exhibition explores the life of the walled city in the past. The ancient stones that have survived the vicissitudes of life tell us about their experiences. After more than a hundred years of historical baptism, the walled city is no longer a "no man's land", but a place for families to relax.

Post by _TS***lb | Apr 24, 2022