Kadoorie Hill: how a historic enclave became one of Hong Kong’s most desirable residential areas
- Kowloon neighbourhood of spacious properties, complete with gardens, private pools and tree-lined boulevards, has impressive history of nearly a century
- Hilly 30-acre plot of land was bought in 1931 with plans to build British-style ‘garden city’ as a sanctuary from crowded urbanisation overtaking city
Kadoorie Hill, known as one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious addresses, is a neighbourhood set apart from the ubiquitous tenement blocks and skyscrapers of the densely populated city.
For generations, the neighbourhood has been home to some of the city’s wealthiest people, right in the urban heart of Hong Kong.
The red-roofed white houses on the hill allude to a time when families such as the Jardines, the Kadoories and the Hotungs began their Hong Kong legacies.
The neighbourhood of spacious properties, complete with gardens, private pools and tree-lined boulevards, has an impressive history of nearly a century, and has witnessed Kowloon’s vibrant transformation into the peninsular part of Asia’s world city.
‘Garden cities’ make their way to Kowloon
At the start of the 20th century, colonial Hong Kong was firmly established on Hong Kong Island while Kowloon, still known for tiger hunting at the time, bore no resemblance to the bustling world-class metropolis it would become.