Today on June 13, 2022 I have finished reading a novel by Ryan Graudin entitled The Walled City.

In the novel, it discusses a small former fortress town with high walls surrounding it.

This small town never received attention from the local government which then made it untouchable by the law, thus making it a very suitable place for various types of crime to grow and develop, for example: gangs, drug trafficking, to human trafficking/slavery.

This then makes me wonder, does a city like this really exist or has it ever existed?

And how lucky I was when at the end of the novel the writer (Ryan Graudin) gave a clue by telling the source of his inspiration, at the end of the novel The Walled City Ryan mentioned the name Hong Kong which I then used to find information to answer all kinds of questions and curiosity which is raging.

About 15 minutes I searched and read using the search engine on my smartphone, armed with the keyword "Hongkong The Walled City" I finally found what I was looking for, on several sites / websites I have reviewed a city called Kowloon with the nickname Walled City.

The city of Kowloon is under the territory of Hong Kong and based on the facts I have found, it is said that in 1989 the city had become the most densely populated area in the world.

In many articles I read that describe the area of ​​the city of Kowloon which is only about 2,600 square meters, Kowloon Walled City is home to at least 55,000 people and accommodates 350 piles of buildings.

On average, one building has 10 to 14 floors and is filled by 10,700 houses. This is what makes this region the most densely populated place in the world.

According to atlas obscura (an online magazine and travel company based in America, cataloging unusual and obscure travel destinations through user-generated content) Kowloon The Walled City has hundreds of alleys that are only 2 adult steps wide. Some of the tunnels in this area of ​​the city are closed, due to the garbage dumped by local residents.

Rules and laws do not apply here which in other words makes this city a very strategic place for criminals to gather and grow. Ruled by members of the ruthless mafia, pimps and drug dealers add a terrible impression to this city which in the end makes Kowloon City have a nickname other than "The Walled City" namely "Hak Nam" which in Cantonese (colloquial language in Hong Kong) Kong) means city of darkness.

In the 19th century the British did various ways to force the Chinese government to surrender the Kowloon peninsula for 99 years to be used by the British as a trading area and British power center in Asia. However, in the agreement, the British were willing to delay the control of the city until they succeeded in establishing a well-organized colonial government, this which then made the city of Kowloon increasingly neglected and began to be forgotten.

A few years later it was time for the British government to come to power, it was found that the city of Kowloon was a messy area that did not obey the law, this made the British government hold the Chinese government accountable to clean up the mess.

When World War II broke out, Britain then left the mainland of China and left the city of Kowloon alone, in 1933 the long dispute between Britain and China ended with an agreement initiated by the British government and Chinese authorities. Eventually the City of Kowloon reestablished its laws which made many locals start to leave the area.

The number of buildings demolished by the Chinese government in anticipation of the return of illegal residents so as not to re-occupy the area and made over time the era of Kowloon The Walled City slowly began to end, and now the city of Kowloon has become an area with cheap shopping centers, and decorated beautiful garden and friendly for children.

All that remains of the dark era of kowloon are cannons from the 19th century which were used by the local government as part of historical educational tours, making this city a must-visit destination for every tourist who comes to Hong Kong.