Mapping a Chinese plan for the Kowloon walled city: an initial documentary and topographical interpretation

Abstract This short paper on the planning and development of the City of Kowloon (City) at its formative (pre-British colonial) stage as a walled Ch’ing ( Qing ) Dynasty military base, attempts to provide a reasonable account of the apparent in-completion of this imperially planned town. The account is based on a comparison of the written specifications of this City’s design in written narratives in Chinese official documents, and its actual physical configuration after 1847 as it appears in photos, maps, and written sources. The authors postulate that the abandonment of the originally-proposed dimensions, a “ Chun Hoi Lau ” ( Zhenhai Tower ) which venerated the god Pak Tei ( Beitei ) with a strong fung shui ( feng shui ) function, and an uphill gun (cannon) position, was due to local objective topographical and geotechnical constraints that were insurmountable given China’s perceived urgent military needs at the time.