Hong Kong Photo Gallery - Kadoorie Hill

Kadoorie Hill is a hilly neighbourhood of lowrise homes despite being just a stone's throw from Mongkok's busiest markets. Back at the beginning of the 20th century, Kowloon was still a fairly rural area where people could even hunt tigers. In 1922, a new property developer envisioned building a British-style garden city in Kowloon Tong, which was warmly received. In 1931, another developer, the Hongkong Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., purchased a 30-acre area to build a sister garden city, which would become Kadoorie Hill. One of the developer's owners was businessman Sir Elly Kadoorie. The Kadoorie family features prominently in Hong Kong's economic history. Sir Elly Kadoorie was a Jewish businessman who developed the China Light and Power Company, which still provides electricity to Kowloon and the New Territories, and whose former headquarters still sits at the bottom of the hill - CLP Pulse photo gallery. Between the two World Wars, Hong Kong's population exploded and this neighbourhood would be a quiet escape from increasing urbanization. Construction mainly took place in the 1940s and 50s with most homes being lowrise villas. It soon attracted a wealthy clientele. Some homes in the area are as big as 6000 square feet, an unrealistically handsome sum for the average resident. Even in recent times, residents include the rich and famous such as Cantopop stars Leslie Cheung and Andy Lau. It's a bit ironic given the garden city concept was originally geared towards the working class. The district's main thoroughfare is the appropriately-named Kadoorie Avenue, which was completed in 1936. South China Morning Post article