Kowloon, the Walled City

[Jeff]

So out of interest I looked on the internet the setting for Shenmue II when Ryo is in Kowloon. The place Ryo explored in the later half of the game actually no longer exists. The Chinese government tore the whole place down in the early 90's because it was not only disgusting, but it was an eyesore filled with crime and black market dentistry, medical, and anything illegal under the sun really. It was known as the Kowloon Walled City. There was no easy way to get into it other than some dark tunnels. Jackie Chan actually shot a scene for Crime Story in Kowloon and the explosions were real because the government had no problem in destroying the buildings. Shenmue actually made it look better than it actually was.

Here is the video from Crime Story at Kowloon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H9tjc_EAfo

Here is an 80's movie talking about Kowloon and going through the tunnels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEo6ogAnoZ8

Here is an undercover video of Kowloon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSnvqBhWUOc

And here are some pics.











Of course, here is how Kowloon is depicted in Shenmue II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffd8nNqNz2A

And Lastly, here is the Wikipedia article on this place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

[silverson]

kowloon was a very interesting place. sucks that they had to go and destroy it, yes it was crime ridden and the whole nine but at the end of the day many people still called it home.

[Sterling]

Yeah, yeah people called it home but it was so unsafe! I mean just check out the building Zhu Yuanda was living in. He could have slipped and fell off one of those planks bridging the floors before Ryo ever saw him and then what would have happened?

[Brotherman]

Yeah, yeah people called it home but it was so unsafe! I mean just check out the building Zhu Yuanda was living in. He could have slipped and fell off one of those planks bridging the floors before Ryo ever saw him and then what would have happened?

He used the elevator, remember?

[Yukupo]

Ryo's face after Ren showed up from the elevator was priceless.

[Riku]

I remember that took me so long.

[silverson]

Ryo's face after Ren showed up from the elevator was priceless.

lol thought i was the only one who found it hysterical

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6yo2Zac6kA

2:09 - 2:27

[Yukupo]

Fantastic.

[Vyse Hazuky]

Kowloon is a dream place for me.

It is certainly one of the things that made Shenmue so special to me as when I was a kid I often dreamed of getting lost on a big building maze, with elevators that went nowhere, and secret passages and complicated routes.

That such a place existed was incredible and I regret that I never had the possibility to witness it in person.

Once I even attempted to translate (from an english translation of course) the journal of the expedition that a group of Tokyoites had undertaken just before the city was demolished. I believe they were in fact the last foreigners to enter the city.

For me it was certainly one of the wonders of the World, so extravagant that it just didn't fit.

[Ryo Hazuki ™]

Definitely Vyse, It was a dream place roaming around it in Shenmue 2, and to see real pics of it makes it more amazing.

[Vyse Hazuky]

Here is the expedition story I mentioned. It's linked from Wikipedia's "resource" section.

http://web.archive.org/web/20020208225753/www.flex.co.jp/kowloon/story/index_e.html

It's a great read, even if the English is a little weird, hehe... I wonder if there aren't some video tapes of it back in Japan.... damn!