There were many twists and turns in the implementation of demolition, and the construction didn't start until the spring of 1994, which cost more than 60 million yuan. It was carefully designed by many experts, hired domestic technicians, and shipped special materials to imitate the garden buildings in the south of the Yangtze River in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. In order to preserve the local historical spirit, the original yamen, moat, ancient well and fence are all reproduced one by one, so that history can be integrated into the garden.
Kowloon Walled City Park covers an area of 365,438+0,000 square meters, and was originally the seat of Kowloon Walled City in Qing Dynasty. Kowloon walled city was originally a no-go zone between the Hong Kong government, Britain and the Mainland, all of which were 1898. When signing the Treaty on Lease of the Territory North of Kowloon, it claimed that this land in Hong Kong still belongs to China, but the mainland government did not want to go deep into this area to disturb or be regarded as a provocative act.
Jiulongzhai began to build a village in the city after the first Opium War. According to historical records, Guanzhai City was founded in 1803 (the 13th year of Daoguang), and the project took four years to complete in 1807 (the 17th year of Daoguang). At that time, the area of Kowloon walled city was only over 70 mu, which was built on the mountain. At first, it was surrounded by walls. The width of the city is 140 feet, the length is 130 feet, the wall is about 7 feet high, and the wall thickness is 5 to 10 feet. There are gates in the southeast and northwest. The door is eight feet high, eight feet wide and more than two feet deep, with a half-moon shape at the top and an iron gate. The south gate faces the sea and is the main gate. The city gate is engraved with the four characters "Kowloon Walled City". There is a small river named Jinlong River in front of the city gate, and there is a stone bridge on the river, which is the main channel for Kowloon Walled City to go to sea. Jinlong Stone Bridge was built in 1873 (the 12th year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty) and took two years to complete. The bridge is sixty feet long and six feet wide, and hundreds of pieces extend to the sea. This is the famous "Golden Dragon Bridge". In 1892 (18th year of Guangxu reign of Qing dynasty), the coast retreated due to sediment deposition, and then a wooden bridge was built. The walled city is a long-lost historical story.
Castle Village in Kowloon, surrounded by Jiabingda Road, Leshan Road, Dongzhengdao Road, Dongtoucun Road and Lianhe Road, covers an area of about three hectares. Before the demolition, there were about 33,000 residents, and there were about 9,300 office buildings with floors 10- 14, including industrial and commercial houses 1000, 87 dental clinics and 74 western medicine clinics. Other walks of life can be said to be all-encompassing. Because of the special environment, it has gradually become an anarchic den of thieves, which has long been mixed with good and bad and has become a cancer of the city. Many people who broke the law in Hong Kong fled here and took root, because it was out of control. Natural drug trafficking, smuggling, murder and robbery continue. In order to eradicate this chaotic source, the Chinese and British governments reached an agreement in 1987. Before Hong Kong's return to China, the British government issued a special compensation bill for demolition, which completely eliminated this lawless place and built the Kowloon Walled Park on the spot.
The park has been beautifully reorganized, and Kowloon is no longer the source of evil. The yamen and houses left in the early years of the city village in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China were also discovered one after another during excavation. The original appearance has been restored as much as possible, and the historic stone tablet has been erected again. In addition to the yamen and historical sites, the whole park is modeled after the Jiangnan Garden in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, with bright windows, pavilions, lotus ponds and koi fish tours, which are very simple. In order to integrate history into the garden.
Today, there are many buildings in Kowloon Chengzhai Park, but the rich historical relics such as stone tablets, cannons, pillars and inscriptions of the Qing government are still preserved during the demolition process and put on display in the park. There are also rare "yamen" buildings in South China, the original stone tablet of the city wall, the south gate monument and the concrete ruins before the war, which show the vicissitudes of the city wall.
Stepping into the south gate of the park, the gray square brick columns on both sides are engraved with the characters "Kowloon Walled City" and "South Gate" respectively. Bypassing the zhaobi with the inscription on the park, the scenery suddenly became clear and a three-step yamen came into view. This is the only preserved ancient building in Zhaicheng, which has been restored to its original appearance after repair and stands in the center of the park. There are two ancient cannons in front of the yamen and an ancient well on the west side. Some cultural relics being excavated in Zhaizhai are displayed in the yamen, including the stone tablet engraved with the words "Mo Yuan" and "Shou" in the boxing book of the deputy commander of Dapeng Club. In the yamen hall, there is also a plan of Zhaicheng in Chen Zhan 1902, which illustrates the history of Zhaicheng and the process of building a garden.
Kowloon Castle was built in the 23rd year of Daoguang in Qing Dynasty (AD 1843), when British troops occupied Hong Kong, and Kowloon became the forefront of China's frontier defense. The Qing government changed the inspection department of Guanfu to the inspection department of Kowloon, and moved the headquarters to Kowloon Walled City to build the Urban Construction Department to strengthen the defense of Kowloon. The city wall project started in 10 and took 5 years to complete. "Kowloon Walled City", also known as "Kowloon Walled City", the cost of building the city was donated by officials and gentry.
In the 24th year of Guangxu reign (A.D. 1898), Britain forced the Qing government to sign the Special Article on Expanding the Border of Hong Kong and lease the New Territories for 99 years. Both sides agreed that Kowloon City will continue to be under the jurisdiction of China.
After the Qing soldiers withdrew from the city village in 1899, the city village gradually became a residential building and many squatters were built. Residents live by raising pigs and farming. The walled city has been isolated from the outside world for a long time, and the population in the city has surged, and illegal land occupation, demolition and disorderly construction are serious. The walls are getting worse and worse, the walls are destroyed, and the city has become a slum. 1942 After the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong, in order to expand Kai Tak Airport for military use, the walled city was demolished and the foundation of the airport runway was built with the removed stones. As a result, Kowloon Walled City became a city without walls.
1984 12. The formal signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Hong Kong issue has provided a good foundation for solving the problem of the Kowloon walled city. 1987 65438+1October 14, the hong kong government announced that kowloon walled city would be demolished and converted into a park within three years. In order to build the Kowloon Walled Park, the Architectural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government sent five architects to the Mainland to inspect China gardens and select the most suitable design. The early Qing Dynasty was the golden age of China gardens, so the Jiangnan gardens in the early Qing Dynasty were taken as the design model. The unique design of Zhaicheng Park won the 1993 Stuttgart World Garden Expo Design Excellence Award. February 22 1995 The opening ceremony of the Garden was presided over by the Governor of Hong Kong, Mr Patten. It is open to citizens and tourists free of charge. The "sunset", once included in the "Eight Scenes of Xiangjiang River", aroused people's regret over the loss of land and has since become a paradise on earth. The park was built at a cost of $76 million and managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.