19-628: Shek Kip Mei , originally known as Shek Kap Mei , is an area in New Kowloon , to the northeast of the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong . It borders Sham Shui Po and Kowloon Tong . At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Shek Kip Mei was 72. A major fire on 25 December 1953 destroyed the Shek Kip Mei shanty town of immigrants from Mainland China who had fled to Hong Kong, leaving 53,000 people homeless. After
38-556: A Vietnamese refugee camp during the influx of migration in the aftermath of the Vietnam War in the 1970s. The district covers the Shek Kip Mei , Sham Shui Po , Cheung Sha Wan , Lai Chi Kok , Kowloon Tsai , So Uk , Un Chau [ yue ] , Tai Wo Ping [ yue ] and Yau Yat Chuen areas of New Kowloon , and Stonecutters Island of Kowloon . Sham Shui Po District administers: Sham Shui Po
57-740: Is an area in Hong Kong, bounded to the south by Boundary Street , and to the north by the ranges of the Eagle's Nest , Beacon Hill , Lion Rock , Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak . It covers the present-day Kwun Tong District and Wong Tai Sin District , and northern parts of the Sham Shui Po District and Kowloon City District . The name of this area is rarely used in day-to-day life. Areas that belong to New Kowloon are usually referred to as part of Kowloon. However, in land leases, it
76-597: Is common to refer to land lots in lot numbers as "New Kowloon Inland Lot number #". By the Convention of Peking in 1860, the territory of British-owned Kowloon was defined as area in Kowloon Peninsula south of a line which later became Boundary Street (known as Kowloon, inclusive of Stonecutter's Island ), which was ceded by the Qing Empire (Ch'ing Empire, Manchu Empire) to the United Kingdom under
95-615: Is technically in New Kowloon and not part of Kowloon as statutorily defined. In modern-day conversations, the term "New Kowloon" is now rarely heard in Hong Kong. New Kowloon is no longer regarded as part of the New Territories , but as a part of the Kowloon urban area beyond Boundary Street. Nevertheless, the legal definitions of Kowloon, New Kowloon and New Territories remain unchanged—New Kowloon has remained legally part of
114-420: Is the second poorest district by income in Hong Kong, with a predominantly working-class population of 405,869 in 2016 and the lowest median household income of all districts. Sham Shui Po has long been home to poorer new immigrants from China . It also saw the birth of public housing in Hong Kong , as the government sought to resettle those displaced by a devastating fire in its slums. Sham Shui Po also hosted
133-730: The New Territories instead of Kowloon . On 1 July 1997, the territories on both sides of Boundary Street (ceded and leased respectively) were transferred to China , along with the rest of Hong Kong . However, the designation "New Kowloon" still has some legal implications. Almost all lands of Hong Kong are government land (known as crown land in Commonwealth countries and before 1997 in Hong Kong), while all crown leases (now known as government leases in Hong Kong) of New Kowloon and New Territories lands had been expired on 27 June 1997, but automatically extended up to 30 June 2047 due to
152-536: The Shek Kip Mei Low-cost Housing Estate in their stead. The apartments were small, only about 300 square feet (28 m). Each unit could house five people, and each building had a capacity of 2,500 residents. The rent was HK$ 17 per square foot per month, while the rent for a commercial store downstairs was HK$ 100 per month. Foreign tourists visiting the apartment complexes referred to them as "prisons". Some scholars have argued that
171-716: The Sino-British Joint Declaration . This renewal implies that, all privately owned land leases of New Kowloon, has to pay government rent ( crown rent in Commonwealth countries) as leases in the rest of the New Territories, and unlike the rest of the Kowloon. Most Kowloon land leases (Kowloon south of the Boundary Street) are not required to pay the government rent to the government, unless they are new leases, or are old leases having been renewed and such clauses have been inserted in
190-886: The Convention. On the other hand, the territory north of Boundary Street (later known as New Kowloon) remained part of Qing Empire until it was leased as part of the New Territories to the UK in 1898 for 99 years under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory (also known as the Second Convention of Peking ). The area of New Kowloon was defined in statutory law first in November 1900 (and referred to as such ) and again in December 1937 to increase land available for urban development. For most part
209-540: The area now. The old Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate was renovated and now serves as the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre . Since 1 October 1979, it has been served by Shek Kip Mei station on the MTR at Woh Chai Street and Wai Chi Street. Route 7 passes to the north of the area and accessed via Nam Cheong Street. KMB and New World First Bus operates a number or routes that travel within
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#1732772504432228-576: The area, following great opposition from many who believe they symbolised the history of Hong Kong . An alternative plan to renovate it for use as a hostel and museum has been completed. The museum includes restored rooms, resident stories and photos, and documentation of the history of public housing estates. Shek Kip Mei now has several types of housing including the public apartments, Pak Tin Estate and private housing such as Beacon Heights and Dynasty Heights. Several malls and churches can also be found in
247-519: The area. Shek Kip Mei is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 40. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and two government schools: Fuk Wing Street Government Primary School and Li Cheng Uk Government Primary School. 22°20′03″N 114°10′08″E / 22.33426°N 114.16881°E / 22.33426; 114.16881 New Kowloon New Kowloon
266-409: The fire, the governor Alexander Grantham launched a public housing programme to introduce the idea of multi-storey building for the immigrant population living there. The standardised new structures offered fire- and flood-resistant construction to previously vulnerable hut dwellers. The programme involved demolishing the rest of the makeshift houses left untouched by the fire, and the construction of
285-504: The government has been overstating the role of the fire in the history of public housing in Hong Kong. At the north of Shek Kip Mei is Tai Wo Ping ( 大窩坪 ), along Beacon Hill . This was a cottage area (a type of resettlement accommodation) from the 1950s to 1970s, but it has been developed into a public housing estate , Chak On Estate ( 澤安邨 ), and two private housing estates , Beacon Heights ( 畢架山花園 ) and Dynasty Heights ( 帝景峰 ). The Government has backed off from its plans to redevelop
304-588: The northern boundary of the area was defined by the 500 feet (152 metres) contour. In practice, nevertheless, both the areas to the south and to the north of Boundary Street (i.e. both Kowloon and New Kowloon), from the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east to Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Lai Chi Kok Bay in the west, are collectively known as "Kowloon". For example, a postal address in Kwun Tong will identify "Kowloon" as its regional destination, even though it
323-497: The renewed lease contract. The land reclaimed from the Kowloon Bay water body, such as Kai Tak , are also referred as part of New Kowloon in land leases, although these lots do not appear to be included in the 1937 map. 22°20′03″N 114°11′14″E / 22.3341°N 114.1871°E / 22.3341; 114.1871 Sham Shui Po District Sham Shui Po District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong . It
342-563: Was Hong Kong's first large-scale private housing estate. It comprises eight phases with a total of 99 blocks. There are 18 public housing estates in the Sham Shui Po District, divided into sub-districts: The main campus of City University of Hong Kong , was located in Tat Chee Avenue, Sham Shui Po District. There are four railway lines serving Sham Shui Po District: There are also various bus routes serving
361-488: Was already a densely populated district in the 1950s and 1960s. It is poverty-stricken, having the lowest median monthly domestic household income among the 18 districts. It has the highest percentage of elderly people over 65 years. The percentage of new immigrants is also very high. Living conditions of grass-roots families in this district remain a social issue. Mei Foo Sun Chuen in Lai Chi Kok , built in 1968–1978,
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