Kowloon Walled City Park

The walls that enclose this beautiful park were once the perimeter of a notorious village that technically remained part of China throughout British rule, as it was never included in the 1898 lease of the New Territories. The enclave was known for its vice, prostitution, gambling and illegal dentists. In 1984 the Hong Kong government acquired the area, rehoused the residents elsewhere, built pavilions and ponds filled with turtles and goldfish and planted exquisite trees and shrubs, including a long hedge coaxed into the form of a dragon. The park opened in 1996. Close to the Carpenter Rd entrance of the park is the renovated Yamen building, once an almshouse. It contains displays on the history of the walled city, with a scale model of the village in the mid-19th century. At the park’s north side are the remnants of the original South and East Gates.