Kowloon

Peninsular area on the Chinese coast, until July 1997 part of the British crown colony of Hong Kong; population (2001 est) 2,024,000; the city of Kowloon is a residential area.

The walled city of Kowloon was created in 1898, when Britain leased the New Territories from China; China reserved jurisdiction over a disused fort, a site of 2.6 ha/6.5 acres, and although the UK did not recognize this, some legal anomalies remained (for example, criminals captured in the Walled City were until 1960 deported to China). Although it lacked running water and other amenities, the Walled City became the world's most densely populated area, with 33,000 residents in 1987 and 1,000 industrial and commercial enterprises. The wall was dismantled in 1943. Its 500 buildings of up to 14 floors were less than a metre apart. The Walled City was demolished in 1993.

Kowloon continues to be part of the special administrative region of Hong Kong, which has been within the Republic of China since 1997, but with a guarantee of 50 years' non-interference in its political system.