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The name Kowloon stems from the term Nine Dragons, which refers to eight mountains and a Chinese emperor: Kowloon Peak, Tung Shan, Tate’s Cairn, Temple Hill, Unicorn Ridge, Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Crow’s Nest and Emperor Bing of Song. The part of Kowloon south of Boundary Street, together with Stonecutters Island, was ceded by Qing China to the United Kingdom under the Convention of Peking of 1860. For many years the area remained largely undeveloped, used by the British mainly for tiger-hunting expeditions The part of Kowloon north of Boundary Street (New Kowloon) was leased by the British as part of the New Territories under the 1898 Second Convention of Peking for 99 years. Within New Kowloon is Kowloon City, which refers to an area of Hong Kong where the Kowloon Walled City used to be located. The Kowloon Walled City itself was demolished in 1993. The same area was called Guanfuchang (官富場) during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Statutorily, “Kowloon” is used to refer to the area south of Boundary Street and the Stonecutters Island. “New Kowloon” has also remained part of the New Territories.

In modern-day culture, New Kowloon is not regarded as part of the New Territories but as an integral part of the Kowloon urban area whether north or south of Boundary Street.

Large-scale development of Kowloon began in the early-20th century, with the construction of the Kowloon-Canton Railway and the Kowloon Wharf, but because of Kowloon’s close proximity to Kai Tak Airport, building construction was limited by flight paths. As a result, compared to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon has a much lower skyline. After World War II, Kowloon became extremely congested when slums for refugees from the newly established China gave way to public housing estates, mixed with private residential, commercial and industrial areas.

The area of reclaimed land known as West Kowloon was once home to a dockyard for the Royal Navy.

A 13-foot high stone wall was built in 1847 around Kowloon. The 1911 census recorded a population of 7,306, with most being Hakka. The invasion of China by Japan in 1937 caused the population of Kowloon to explode. Between 1937 and 1939, 750,000 refugees arrived in Kowloon and nearby areas, with many being homeless.

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 [:zh]

 

九龍與香港島及新界是香港三大區域之一。九龍位於香港境內的地理中心，與南面的香港島隔維多利亞港相望。香港十八區中的五區屬於九龍，分別是油尖旺區、深水埗區、九龍城區、黃大仙區、觀塘區。九龍東、南和西面則被維多利亞港包圍，三面環海，因此地理上九龍亦稱為九龍半島。

自1968年5月起，新九龍、九龍與香港島重新分為十區，但一般香港市民在生活中都不會刻意區分，統一稱為九龍。歷年來的填海工程，使九龍的面積不斷擴展，但仍是香港城市規劃之三大主要部份中最小的，截至2010年，九龍的面積約47平方公里，2011年人口普查結果顯示，全港約有29.82%人口居於九龍。

歷史
南宋以前，史書關於九龍的記載甚少，不過，從深水埗區李鄭屋漢墓和旺角通菜街出土的晉代陶器，證明最晚在漢代時期九龍已有人居住，並且受到中原文化的影響。秦朝平定百越之時，今天的九龍被納入爲番禺縣管轄。由晉朝至明朝期間，今天的九龍之地曾屬寶安縣、東官郡、廣州府等行政區管轄。至明朝，寶安縣改名爲新安縣，竝屬之管轄，直至清朝與英國簽訂北京條約，九龍（不包括新九龍）才屬於英屬香港。另相傳中國宋朝末年，1276年6月14日即位的皇帝宋端宗趙昰被元朝軍隊相逼南逃避難，流亡逃至官富場，即今日的九龍城一帶，後人在海岸旁的一塊大石刻上「宋王臺」三個字以作紀念，即現存宋王臺花園。

第二次鴉片戰爭之役，清朝再敗給英法聯軍，於1860年簽下《北京條約》，把九龍半島南部連同鄰近的昂船洲一同割讓給英國。當時在九龍半島上的新邊界只用矮矮的鐵絲網分割，位置就在今天的界限街。1898年，英國通過與清廷簽訂《中英展拓香港界址專條》及其他一系列租借條約，租借九龍半島北部、新界和鄰近的兩百多個離島，但九龍寨城除外，租期99年。自英國於1860年取得九龍半島後到1898租借九龍半島北部和新界，這30多年沒有重點開發九龍，因為九龍半島的控制權在軍部，軍部主要保留九龍半島作為軍事用途保護港島。軍部與英商一直爭議九龍半島的用途，直到1898年《展拓香港界址專條》簽訂後，九龍半島的用途才改為商業與旅遊，而開始大力發展。

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