The Historical Evolution of Kwun Tong District

The early Kwun Tong was known as the "official wealth field" and was once an economic and military strategic place. The foothills of Kwun Tong, including Kowloon Bay, used to be salt fields, and salt production and tax collection from salt producers became the source of income for the government at that time. Kwun Tong, formerly known as Guantang, literally means a pond owned by the government. It is said that the salt field filled with seawater looks like a pond, and most of the salt fields are owned by the government, hence the name.

Architectural evolution

The earliest historical record of Tong Can can be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, a government-run saltworks was established in Guantang area, named "Guanfuchang", which was managed by salt officials. It was one of the four major saltworks in Dongguan County at that time.

In the first year of Longxing in Xiaozong of Southern Song Dynasty (1 163), Guan Fuchang's salt production was not satisfactory and was once abandoned, but it was restored only after the salt production rebounded.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the official finance field was changed to the official finance inspection department, and in the Ming Dynasty, it was changed to the official finance inspection department. Until the first year of Kangxi (1662), in order to prevent coastal residents from helping Zheng Chenggong's regime in Taiwan Province, the Qing government implemented a border-moving order, forcing coastal residents to move 50 miles inland, and the saltworks were abandoned.

Although the relocation order was cancelled in the eighth year of Kangxi (1669), the relocated residents were not familiar with cooking salt, so Yantian could not be restored to its previous scale and was finally abandoned. This saltworks has brought a sum of official wealth to the local area, and some residents call it "Guantang" (meaning "official wealth saltworks").

Before 1950, Kwun Tong District was quite deserted, with only a few oil drums and garbage dumps. Due to the rapid industrial development in Hong Kong after the Second World War, the two factory areas in Tsuen Wan and Ngau Tau Kok are saturated.

1954, the hong kong government started the reclamation project in kwun tong, which was completed in 140 mu and 1957. The land reclaimed from the sea, that is, the south of Kwun Tong, is used for industrial development, while the north of Kwun Tong is developed into a residential area. At the beginning, Kwun Tong Industrial Zone only had overhead wires, and 1960 was changed to underground wires.

1In July, 1960, the Hong Kong Government announced the comprehensive development blueprint of Kwun Tong District, in which 14 acre of land was allocated to establish a commercial district, making Kwun Tong the center of Kwun Tong District.

65438-0980 With the opening of the Hong Kong subway, the commercial facilities in Kwun Tong have gradually increased. In March, 2005, APM Shopping Mall in Century City, Kwun Tong opened, which is the largest shopping mall in East Kowloon and a new landmark in Kwun Tong.

Cultural relic archaeology

When you pass Ping Shek Village on Kwun Tong Road, you will see a temple with red walls and green tiles, and a ceramic statue on the roof. The word "Sanshanwang" is engraved on the forehead in front of the temple, which is the Sanshanwang Temple. Three mountains refer to three famous mountains in Chaozhou, Guangdong: Dushan, Mingshan and Jinshan. There are many legends about Sanshan King. One of them is that Zhao Kuangyin, Song Taizu, with the help of Sanshan God, put down the rebellion in Liu Zhang, so he named Sanshan king.

Hakka people in Guangdong worship the king of the three mountains, and temples are built everywhere Hakka immigrants go. This Sanshanwang Temple has been rebuilt many times, and a small flower market was set up in front of the temple at the New Year's Eve party.