Inside Hong Kong's lawless 'walled city' ' the most crowded place on Earth for 40 years

Slightly north of Hong Kong Island there once stood one of the most densely populated places on earth.From the 1950s until 1994, over 33,000 people lived and worked in Kowloon Walled City, a massive complex of 300 interconnected buildings that took up a city block.Caught between China and the British-run Hong Kong government, the city was essentially lawless, equally known for its opium dens and organized crime as its dentists' offices.PhotographerGreg Girardspent years investigating and documenting the strange place before it was demolished.Girard collaborated with Ian Lambot, another photographer, on a book about Kowloon, titled "City of Darkness Revisited," available here.Girard shared a number of photos from the project with us in 2015, and you can check out the rest at the book's website.SEE ALSO:This is the last generation of Chinese women to endure the painful tradition of foot bindingKowloon Walled City was a densely populated, ungoverned settlement in Kowloon, an area north of Hong Kong Island. What began as a Chinese military fort evolved into a squatters' village comprising a mass of 300 interconnected high-rise buildings.The city began as a low-rise squatter village during the early 20th century. After World War II, Hong Kong experienced a massive influx of Chinese immigrants. This led to a lack of housing in the city. In response, entrepreneurs and those with "squatter's rights" in Kowloon built high rise buildings on the space to capitalize on the housing demand.At its peak, more than 33,000 people lived in the 6.4-acre city. It was considered by many to be the most densely populated place on earth.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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