Kowloon Tong
Encyclopedia
Kowloon Tong formerly Kau Lung Tong, is an area in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Within New Kowloon
New Kowloon
New Kowloon is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak...

, it is administratively divided by Kowloon City District
Kowloon City District
Kowloon City District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is located in Kowloon. It had a population of 381,352 in 2001. The district has the third most educated residents while its residents enjoy the highest income in Kowloon....

 and Sham Shui Po District
Sham Shui Po District
Sham Shui Po District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong. It covers the Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok and Yau Yat Chuen areas of New Kowloon, and Stonecutter's Island of Kowloon...

. It is an expensive low density residential district, popular among the upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...

 and upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...

 in the city.

Places in Kowloon Tong include:
  • Beacon Hill
    Beacon Hill, Hong Kong
    Beacon Hill is a hill in the Kowloon Tong area of Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula. It is the 65th highest hill of Hong Kong. It is 457 m tall.Beacon Hill is located within the Lion Rock Country Park.-Name:...

     — a hill with a height of 457 m, and several residential developments.
  • Festival Walk
    Festival Walk
    Festival Walk is an upmarket shopping centre in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong owned by Swire Properties from 1998 to 2011. It was the biggest shopping mall in Hong Kong at its launch in November 1998. Festival Walk was developed jointly by Swire Properties and CITIC Pacific in 1993–1998. In 2006, Swire...

     — a shopping centre operated by Swire Group
    Swire Group
    The Swire Group is a transnational corporation headquartered in the Swire House in the City of Westminster, London, England. It controls a range of wholly owned businesses, including deep-sea shipping, cold storage, road transport, and agricultural activities. The current chairman is James...

     and CITIC
    CITIC
    Not to be confused with Citigroup, another large financial services company.Not to be confused with CIT Group, another large financial services company....

    .
  • Broadcast Drive
    Broadcast Drive
    Broadcast Drive is a road in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. The road is notable as it is only 1 km long but having played host to all five broadcasting outlets in Hong Kong at one point in the 1970s, and the hill on which the road is located was known in Chinese as Ng Toi Shan during that time...

     — a famous area which most radio and TV stations are located, including Radio Television Hong Kong
    Radio Television Hong Kong
    Radio Television Hong Kong is a public broadcasting organisation in Hong Kong that is operated as an independent department in the government under the Broadcasting Authority. RTHK operates seven radio channels, and produces television programmes that are then broadcast through local television...

     (RTHK), TVB
    Television Broadcasts Limited
    Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...

    , ATV
    Asia Television Limited
    Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...

     etc.

History

Kowloon Tong was originally a large village located in present-day Police Sport Association near Boundary Street
Boundary Street
[[Image:Boundary st hongkong.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Boundary Street near [[Kowloon Tong]]Boundary Street is a three-lane one-way street in [[Kowloon]], [[Hong Kong]]...

, south of an unnamed hill. Extensive cultivation was possible in the fertile lands formed by rivers from Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill, Hong Kong
Beacon Hill is a hill in the Kowloon Tong area of Hong Kong's Kowloon peninsula. It is the 65th highest hill of Hong Kong. It is 457 m tall.Beacon Hill is located within the Lion Rock Country Park.-Name:...

.

In the 1920s, Hong Kong Government decided to develop the land of east of Kowloon Tong and proper Kowloon Tsai
Kowloon Tsai
Kowloon Tsai is a place between Kowloon City and Kowloon Tong in Hong Kong. It was formerly a village in valley and now the place became low density residential area in New Kowloon...

 on both side of Kowloon-Canton Railway
Kowloon-Canton Railway
The Kowloon–Canton Railway refers to a railway network in Hong Kong which is now combined with the MTR railway system, comprising rapid transit services, a light rail system and feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to the rest of China...

 into a low density residential area based on the British model. The residential area is thus known as Kowloon Tong. The area is well-planned, and the broad roads and streets are largely named after counties in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It was the home of a large number of wealthy English businessmen.

After years, the proper location of Kowloon Tong and Kowloon Tsai is long forgotten. The name of Kowloon Tsai is preserved in the hill west of the former village of Kowloon Tsai. Currently, luxurious houses in or around LaSalle Road, Kadoorie Avenue and Oxford Road sells for 100 million HKD. It is home to many celebrities, billionaires, movie-stars and CEOs.

Education

The Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University is a publicly-funded tertiary institution with a Christian education heritage. It is the sole surviving institution of 13 major Christian universities that once operated on the Chinese mainland,...

 and the City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...

 are located in Kowloon Tong. Regarding primary education
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

 and secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...

, many leading English Medium of instruction
Medium of instruction
Medium of instruction is a language used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language of the country or territory. Where the first language of students is different from the official language, it may be used as the medium of instruction for part or all of schooling. Bilingual or...

 schools on the Kowloon peninsula
Kowloon Peninsula
The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collectively known as Kowloon....

 are located in the area, including La Salle College
La Salle College
La Salle College is a boys' secondary school in Hong Kong. It was established by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St...

 and the Beacon Hill School. Others include the American International School
American International School Hong Kong
Founded in 1986, American International School is a private, independent, international school in Hong Kong serving families from local and international communities. It delivers US standards-based educational program for students from early childhood through grade 12...

, Yew Chung International School, Concordia International School, Australian International School
Australian International School Hong Kong
Australian International School Hong Kong is a co-educational, international school in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong...

, and the Delia School of Canada
Delia school of canada
Delia School of Canada , also abbreviated to "DSC", is a Canadian International school in Hong Kong located in Taikoo Shing. It is one of Hong Kong’s leading private International Schools. Established in 1986, the School follows a curriculum accredited by the Ministry of Education of Ontario in...

.

Transport

Kowloon Tong is served by the MTR
MTR
Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...

's East Rail Line and Kwun Tong Line. Passengers may interchange here between the two lines. The stretch of Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road, Kowloon
Waterloo Road is a major road in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was named to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo.The road starts in the west at the intersection with Lai Cheung Road and Ferry Street, and runs east past Nathan Road. It then runs on a northeast-southwest alignment through the eastern part of...

 through Kowloon Tong forms part of Hong Kong's Route 1
Route 1 (Hong Kong)
Route 1 in Hong Kong is a major artery that runs in a generally north-south direction from Aberdeen to Sha Tin.The route begins at Aberdeen Praya Road in southern Hong Kong Island, which then turns into Wong Chuk Hang Road...

. It leads into the Lion Rock Tunnel
Lion Rock Tunnel
The Lion Rock Tunnel, being the first tunnel in Hong Kong, is a twin-bored toll tunnel, connecting Sha Tin in the New Territories and New Kowloon near Kowloon Tong. It has two lanes in each direction, with toll booths located at the Sha Tin end. It is a vital component of Route 1.The Lion Rock...

, and as such it serves as an important artery for traffic heading into and out of the New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...

 (in particular Sha Tin
Sha Tin
Sha Tin, also spelled Shatin, is an area around the Shing Mun River in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District.-Geography:...

). Yau Ma Tei
Yau Ma Tei
Yau Ma Tei, also known as Waterloo , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.-Name:Yau Ma Tei is a phonetic transliteration of the name 油麻地 in Cantonese...

 is also accessible via Waterloo Road.

See also

  • Kowloon Tong Station — the MTR station serving the area
  • List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong
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