Kowloon Park
| Kowloon Park | |
|---|---|
| 九龍公園 | |
Aerial view
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| Location | Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon |
| Area | 13.3 hectares |
| Opened | 1970 |
| Operated by | Leisure and Cultural Services Department |
| Open | Year round |
| Public transit access |
Tsim Sha Tsui Station (10 m) Jordan Station (180 m) Austin Station (275 m) Star Ferry Pier (0.6 km) |
Kowloon Park is a large public park in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It has an area of 13.3 hectares (33 acres) and is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
The park was formerly the site of the Whitfield Barracks of the British Army, with a former battery (Kowloon West II Battery) in the northwestern part of the Park.
The Urban Council redeveloped the site into the Kowloon Park in 1970. More than 70 buildings were demolished to make way for the park. The first stage of the park was officially opened on 24 June 1970 by the then Governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Trench. The opening was celebrated by a lion dance as well as a folk dance by students of the Tai Hang Tung Primary School PM Session. Music was provided by the band of the First Battalion, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Sir David unveiled a commemorative plaque and declared Kowloon Park open. The first phase comprised 18 acres out of a planned 26 acres. It featured a floral clock as well as a Chinese garden set within an English landscape, which a government spokesman called "a reminder of Hongkong's cosmopolitan cultural heritage."
However, part of the site was occupied in the construction of an MTR rapid transit line—originally the Kwun Tong Line, now the Tsuen Wan Line—from 1975 to 1978, and this was cited as a reason for the slow progress in developing the remaining three stages of the park for recreational use. The Urban Council also placed some of the blame on the construction of Kowloon Park Drive, which cut through a corner of the park at the insistence of the government.
The Government was criticised when the Executive Council approved plans in 1982 for a strip of retail premises fronting Nathan Road to be carved into the hill of Kowloon Park. The move was first proposed when the Barracks were converted into public open space in 1970, and ignited some controversy. It was opposed by the Urban Council, as well as the Muslim community, whose mosque was close by. The rights for the development of the 5,410 square metre strip were sold in February 1983 to a subsidiary of New World Development for $218 million. The commercial development is called "Park Lane Shopper's Boulevard". Owing to the grade change, the roofs of the shops are level with the ground of Kowloon Park, and so the gardens extend onto the building rooftops.
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Wikipedia