A crowded neighborhood that was demolished 30 years ago is currently the hottest topic in Hong Kong. Thanks to the Oscar-nominated film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which has grossed over 900 million HKD (around 116 million USD) so far, Kowloon Walled City is back in the spotlight. The excitement is palpable, with life-size replicas of iconic spots once housed in the area, like hair salons and cha chaan tengs, now featured in the city’s airport. The Walled City’s aesthetic has even inspired a wave of ads, including Uber Hong Kong commercials starring one of the film’s protagonists, Louis Koo Tin-lok.
Kowloon Walled City was a densely populated settlement that originated as an Imperial Chinese military fort and became notorious for its ostensibly lawless, ungoverned condition during the British colonial period. It housed around 35,000 residents at its peak, in living conditions that were often cramped and unhygienic, ultimately leading to its demolition between 1993 and 1994.