Many historical texts describe the Walled City of Kowloon as an "anomaly", a residual problem from the past with a century on its shoulders. The eviction process stretched over six years… but fortunately, images remain, small windows that remind us how people lived and worked in that place. Matthew Hung published a solid essay in 2013; however, it was photographers Greg Girard and Ian Lambot who captured the walled city before its disappearance…

The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it

A Political Contradiction

An overlooked aspect of the Walled City of Kowloon is that it quickly became a political contradiction. As Hung points out in his essay, neither side was willing to cede the territory, but at the same time they didn't want to take control. Every time the colonial government tried to evict the city (with riots and resistance included), the Chinese sided with the residents, a back-and-forth that lasted until December 1984, when the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed.

The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Tung Tau Tsen Street (Girard, 1987)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
The southwest corner of the city (Girard, 1987)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Children playing on the city's rooftops (Girard, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Another shot from the rooftop (Girard, 1989)

With that agreement, the city's fate was sealed. Minimal compensations were distributed (in some cases not accepted, leading to forced evictions), and some elements received protection for their historical value, but the rest ended up as part of 150,000 cubic meters of rubble.

The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Lung Chun Street (Lambot, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
A dentist's office (Lambot, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Girls on the rooftop (Girard)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
A shop selling fish balls (Girard)

The Last Phase

Greg Girard and Ian Lambot entered the city in its "last phase". Drugs, prostitution, and gambling had already moved to Hong Kong, and what remained, in Girard's own words, was "the anarchic space": unlicensed doctors, food production without health standards, sounds of metal, machines, radios, and televisions, penetrating and almost unbearable smells, permanent humidity... Through all that chaos, the residents found a way, a way to survive.

The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
A Cathay Pacific plane over the city (Girard, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Noodle factory and residence (Girard, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
The interior of an apartment (Girard, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Another apartment, from inside (Girard, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
One of the shops inside the city (Girard, 1989)

Girard and Lambot compiled this extraordinary work into the book City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City, available online.

The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
A street in the west area (Girard, 1990)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
A man washing himself (Girard, 1989)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Another shot from the rooftop, with Kai Tak Airport in the background (Girard, 1990)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
The postal service in action (Girard, 1987)
The Walled City of Kowloon, as you've never seen it
Processing pork (Girard, 1990)

Sources: MasContext, TheFace, City of Darkness