Origin of the name...
The peninsula's name can be translated to "Nine Dragons". This name is thought to be first used by Emperor Ping, one of two boy-emperors of the doomed Sung Dynasty. On arriving at Kowloon while fleeing from wars, he was said to have counted eight mountains, and promptly called it "Bap Lung" (Eight Dragons) 'cos it was believed that every mountain is inhabited by a dragon.
He was then corrected by a courtier who reminded the emperor that, due to his royal birth, he would also be a "dragon" and the place should really be called "Kow Lung" (Nine Dragons). Thus the name is decided upon and it lasts to these days.
The (in)famous airport...
The peninsula also houses one of the most busiest airport in the world, Hong Kong International Airport. This is also one of the last airports in the world to be positioned slap-bang right in the middle of the city. Due to its not-too-small amount of traffic, the airport itself is fast reaching its full capacity. Coupled with the fact that this airport is one the world's most dangerous in terms of location (the poor pilot has to fly close to ground to land, which means flying very close to hills and a lot of residental buildings) and you see why a new airport is being built in Chek Lap Kok Island, next to Lantau Island. (Ah, and let's not forget that little problem of noise pollution...)
Means of transport:
For one of the best views in Hong Kong, nothing beats a ferry ride across the Vicotria Harbour. Star Ferry operates 3 routes across the harbour which, as well as being major commuter routes, also provides excellent photo opportunities. The peninsula's bus service was a monoploy by KMB (Kowloon Motor Bus) but CityBus is trying to dip into its territories. In my humble opinion, I believe that KMB provides better services than CMB but I don't think the residents have that much of a choice. Taxis and mini-buses can again be found and MTR (Mass Transit Railway) also provide a pretty throughout service, although there isn't a service to the airport and for the residents nearby (a shame really). KCRC (Kowloon Canton Railway) also starts here at Hung Hom and goes right up to Guangzhou in mainland China, although the electrified railway only serves the HK part (to stations up to Lo Wu in New Territories). This is a vital lifeline for Hong Kong as it supplies the colony with a lot of resources, the most important being food.
Pictures of the Peninsula:
Ok, I've done enough talking. Let me show you some pictures while I catch my breath: (as usual, click on the thumpnail to download the originals. To see the list of contributors, go to "Credits")
The picture on the left is the aerial view of Tsim Sha Tsui, located at the
southern end of the peninsula. The "U" shape construction which sticks out into
the harbour is the Star Ferry's Tsim Sha Tsui terminal. Above it is the Ocean
Terminal, a major shopping centre.
And this is how it would appear to look out from the Star Ferry's terminal.
Of course, in real life you would feel the gentle breeze as well... (I don't
think you want to do that when typhoon signal 8 is up though)
Here's another photo of the famous Tsim Sha Tsui on left. The place in the
photo is Tsim Sha Tsui East but it was taken at a very special time. Yes, you
got it, it's Christmas time. Every year during Christmas and New Year, owners
of buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai decorate them with light patterns
to add to the festive mood. Nowadays, it even seems to have turned into some
kind of competition: to see who build the best ones!
This is how Nathan Road looked like in 1960 (right). As you can see, it had
already had quite a few users. You can also see the traditional British buses -
prove of its colonial status. An early form of traffic control had also be
implemented - traffic warden in the middle of the road.
By 1989, Nathan Road has changed quite a lot (left). Gone are the traffic
wardens (they are too busy issuing parking-fine tickets) and the traffic lights
steps in. The road has also turned from busy to over-used. Except in the middle
of the night, traffic jams (vehicle and human) are common place. Also, the road
(and many others) has been lit up, during the night, by fleets of advertisment
boards (in a sense, it looks quite nice).
A close encounter of the dangerous kind (right). This is what I mean by bad
location - the dangerous landing path for the aircrafts. Because of the landing
path, there is a ban on constructing buildings which is more than ten storeys
high. It also affect the residents of that area due to the high level of noise
pollutions. Hopefully the new airport is going to solve the problem for once
and for all.
But Hong Kong's development isn't just about the airport. Oh no sir/madam. You see, there is also a not-too-small problem about the traffic as well. There are constructions now which is to with proving better transport and solving bottlenecks. Pictures below are to describe the future transport development of Kowloon Peninsula (mainly West Kowloon, where the problem is greatest; also to help linking up the airport with the city centre):
| Here is a 3-D view of what is going to happen to the peninsula's west when the "Grand Plan" has been executed. No more introduction needed, I think, as you can just see for yourself. |
| This plan shows the new West Kowloon Expressway, along with the third cross-harbour tunnel (still under construction). Quite a bit of the expressway will be built on newly reclaimed land. One end of the expressway will terminate at Sheung Wan in Hong Kong Island while the other end goes right up to the airport (to-be) in Chek Lap Kok (although from Kwai Chung onwards it won't be called by that name). |
| This is a plan of the new railway, which is building built at the moment (as well). It links the airport (to-be) with Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Also on the plan is a comparison of journey time between Lai King and Central (I think that's what it means). On the existing route it would take around 22 minutes, while it should take around 8.5 minutes to finish the trip via the new route (predicted time, of course). |
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