Kowloon’s bustling Yau Tsim Mong district takes a hit as months of protests keep tourists, shoppers away
- District’s image hurt as unrest takes a toll on tourism and the cultural and retail scenes
- Elderly and disabled affected by wrecked traffic lights, ripped-up pavements
From Harbour City, Hong Kong’s largest shopping mall, to the storied Chungking Mansions, a clutch of arts and cultural institutions and the famous Temple Street Night Market, Yau Tsim Mong district has it all.
But a number of its neighbourhoods have recently been battered by civil unrest. Nathan Road, Prince Edward MTR station, Mong Kok Police Station and Polytechnic University have all been seriously affected by anti-government protests, now in their seventh month.
The area now has pro-democracy, anti-government graffiti scrawled across walls, gaping holes in pavements where protesters ripped out bricks to block roads or hurl at police, and signs of damage to shops and MTR stations that were vandalised or torched.
Once a bustling area packed day and night with tourists and shoppers, it is quieter now. Fiona Sun looks at Yau Tsim Mong district, and the impact of the protests.
Where is Yau Tsim Mong district?
One of Hong Kong’s 18 districts, Yau Tsim Mong is in the southern part of the Kowloon peninsula, and named after its three main neighbourhoods – Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.
With a gross land area of about 7 sq km and a population of 342,970 according to the 2016 by-census, it has a population density of 49,046 people per square kilometre, second to Kwun Tong district’s 57,530 people per square kilometre.
