Out of sight, out of mind: rediscovering the lost upper Kowloon (Walled) city from official maps

Abstract As a contribution to heritage and memory studies informed by architectural relics and their imageries, using standard surveying techniques and official documentary evidence (aerial photographic, mapping and archival information), this case study traces the history of the forgotten upper portion of Kowloon (Walled) City, called in this work Upper City, that went up to the summit of a small adjacent hill. It attempts to explain the disappearance of the Upper City and its walls from official and public memory. This disappearance is partly in terms of the loss of the stone walls during Japan’s wartime occupation of Hong Kong, and partly in terms of the presence of post-World War II official sanctions on memory. The findings, relevant to built heritage conservation, reinforce the point that physical walls are important place reminders.