City of Anarchy: Kowloon Walled City Illustrated

Aus einem Artikel der South China Morning Post über die Kowloon Walled City: Eine tolle Risszeichnung mit Erklärungen zu städtischen Einrichtungen wie Schulen oder den – yep! – von Triaden betriebenen Puffs, Opiumhöhlen und Casinos. Die Einwohnerzahl Kowloon Walled Citys hatte sich seit den Siebzigern jede Dekade verdoppelt, bei gleichbleibendem Raum. Ergebnis war eine fast schon autonome Stadt, die wild bebaut rumwucherte. 1993 wurde die Stadt abgerissen.

A 2.7-hectare enclave of opium parlours, whorehouses and gambling dens run by triads, it was a place where police, health inspectors and even tax collectors feared to tread. In Cantonese, it was known as the City of Darkness. But though it may have been a fetid slum, crawling with rats and dripping with sewage, it was stoutly defended to the last by those who lived there, as well as an unlikely ensemble of Chinese shopkeepers, faith healers and self-taught dentists.

It was once thought to be the most densely populated place on earth, with 35,000 people crammed into a few tiny apartment blocks and more than 300 interconnected high-rise buildings, all constructed without contributions from a single architect. But in March 1993, the last batch of residents finally accepted the government’s rehousing terms and compensation terms. It brought down the final curtain on a bizarre chapter of Hong Kong’s colonial past.

Kowloon Walled City: Life in the City of Darkness, hier die Illu als 6MB-JPG mit 3842x6263px (via Chris)