George Wan, Co-founder of “Hide and Seek Tour”
In just about seven decades, the Kwun Tong district, home to Kwun Tong Garden Estate, has undergone remarkable transformation from a quiet coastal region to a highly populated hub filled with numerous commercial and industrial buildings. Even further back, the origin of the name “Kwun Tong” can be traced back to the Song Dynasty before its industrial development.
Before the second year of Longxing reign (1164 AD), the imperial court of the Southern Song Dynasty established the “Kwun Fu Cheung” (官富場) along the coast of Kowloon Bay, one of the four largest salt pans in Dongguan County at the time1. From Kwun Tong Regional Records(觀塘風物志), we can learn that the foot of the Black Hill to the north of Kwun Tong, known as Kwun Fu Mountain then, was originally a vast salt pan covering areas including Kowloon Bay and To Kwa Wan. It is believed that the so-called name “Kwun Tong” in Cantonese came from a salt pond in “Kwun Fu Cheung”2 . In the 10th year of Xianchun reign (1274 AD) of the Southern Song Dynasty, a salt commissioner visited Kwun Fu Cheung and recorded the event on a rock. Recognised as a declared monument, this rock inscription behind Tin Hau Temple at Joss House Bay is the oldest dated rock inscription discovered in Hong Kong. In the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court changed the name of Kwun Fu Cheung to “Kwun Fu Magistracy” (官富巡司), which further evolved into “Kwun Fu Administrative Magistracy” (官富巡檢司) in the Ming and Qing Dynasties as a local civil administration agency.
The rock inscription behind Tin Hau Temple at Joss House Bay, dating back to the 10th year of Xianchun reign (1274 AD).
The Map of San-On District (新安縣全圖), drawn by the Italian missionary Simeone Volonteri in 1860 AD and encompassing present-day Hong Kong and Shenzhen, had the name “Kwun Tong” (官璫) in the similar Cantonese pronunciation but with different Chinese characters at Kwun Tong’s location today. During the 1950s, the government actively sought to develop Kwun Tong as a satellite city. It is said that, influenced by the folk belief of “in death avoid hell, in life avoid official courts” (生不入官門,死不入地獄), people at the time preferred to refrain from using the Chinese character of “Kwun” (官), meaning “official”. Consequently, the character was altered in the name “Kwun Tong” (觀塘)3, one of the few instances where a place name in Hong Kong transitioned from a simpler to a more complex writing style.
As it was initially home to the Kwun Fu Cheung coastal salt pan, salt production played a vital role in the regional economy of the Kwun Tong district, having thrived since the Song Dynasty and experienced significant growth until the early Qing Dynasty. However, the Evacuation Edict (遷界令) during the Kangxi reign forced the local populace in Guangdong to relocate dozens of miles inland, leading to the cessation of the Kwun Fu Cheung salt pan.
Alongside salt production, the quarry industry was a prominent trade in the region as well, which involved extracting granite for use in construction. During the Qing Dynasty, the Hakka communities that had made a livelihood through quarrying for generations gradually migrated to the quarry sites (also known as Shek Tong) in Lei Yue Mun, Ngau Tau Kok, Sai Tso Wan, and Cha Kwo Ling (collectively known as the Four Hills) near Kwun Tong. An imperial-court-appointed “head” for each hill would oversee both major and minor matters in the region. Donned in official attire4, they had the privilege of going in and out of the Communal Hall of Four Hills, a council building situated at the Tin Hau Temple in Sai Tso Wan (later relocated to Cha Kwo Ling), enjoying unmatched prestige during that time.
However, with urbanization, the quarry industry in the Four Hills has become nothing more than a historical tale. In Ngau Tau Kok, the first to take the turn, very little of the old scenery remains, with the Tai Wong Temple near the Garden Estate standing as the sole memorial to times gone by. While Sai Tso Wan is in the area now known as the Laguna City, Lei Yue Mun has become the go-to destination for seafood restaurants. Cha Kwo Ling, on the other hand, has been included in the reconstruction plan, and will see transformation in the near future.
The Communal Hall of Four Hills was originally in Sai Tso Wan and later relocated to Cha Kwo Ling, next to the Tin Hau Temple.
Before 1955, Kwun Tong was virtually absent from the map, even described in newspapers as a “giant garbage dump between Kowloon Bay and Cha Kwo Ling, an endless expanse of waste comparable to a Middle Eastern desert, with an overwhelming stench” 3at the time. Modernisation of Kwun Tong began in the 1950s when the government decided to develop industries in the southern part of the district. The land reclamation and mountain leveling projects gradually unfolded, attracting manufacturers of various products including textile, machinery, printing, paint, kettle, wig, rattan products, flour, and more. Eventually, factory buildings sprouted like mushrooms along the seaside promenade. In the 1970s, the industrial workforce in Kwun Tong accounted for one-third of Hong Kong’s total industrial workforce5. The commission of the MTR Kwun Tong line in 1979 marked a significant achievement in transportation advancement, establishing the district as one of Hong Kong’s most important development areas.
While there was a high demand for workers in the factories, the external transportation infrastructure in Kwun Tong at the time was far from ready. To address workers’ needs, the government commissioned the Hong Kong Housing Society to build dormitories in the north of Kwun Tong, later known as “Kwun Tong Garden Estate”, the first low-cost housing estate in the district. With its thoughtful design and affordable rents, the estate became home to many workers, and recommendations from the factories were required for residency. To accommodate population growth, nearby locations were chosen for public facilities, including the Kwun Tong Government Primary School across from the Kwun Tong Garden Estate. Completed in two phases, the buildings in Phase 1 were named after flowers, and the cluster was then redeveloped to the Lotus Tower in 1990. A redevelopment project is also planned for Phase 2, which consists of buildings named after birds.
Footnote:
1. Siu Kwok Kin:《寨城印痕-九龍城歷史與古蹟》, Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book Co., 2015, P.12.
2.《官塘深度行》, Hong Kong: Senior Citizens Talent Advancement Project Kwun Tong Centre, 2008, P.11.
3. Leung Ping Wa: 《觀塘風物志》, Hong Kong: Kwun Tong District Council, 2008, P.25.
4.《九龍十三鄉委員會銀禧紀念特刊, 1957-1982.》, Hong Kong: Kowloon Thirteen Villages Committee, 1982, P.19.
5. Ho Pui Yin: 《城傳立新:香港城市規劃發展史(1841-2015)》, Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book Co., P.179.
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