History
Prior to the establishment of the actual Kowloon boundaries, the Kowloon Peninsula served as one of the first destination for escape during China's dynastic times. In 1287, the last emperor of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Bing was fleeing from the mongol leader Kublai Khan. Taking refuge in a cave in the Kowloon peninsula, the inscription wrote "Sung Wong Toi" or "Song Emperor's Pavilion". In the 17th century, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, many of the Emperor's followers also found shelter in the Kowloon peninsula to hide from the Manchus.
Historically speaking, Kowloon Peninsula refers to the ceded territories of Kowloon in 1860 as part of the Convention of Peking, but geographically it covers the entire Kowloon south of the mountain ranges of Lion Rock, Kowloon Peak and other hills. Kowloon Peninsula had a population of 800 when it was ceded to the British empire in 1860.
In 1898 a resolution was passed by the Colonial Hong Kong Legislative Council to preserve the land where some of the caves stood.
Read more about this topic: Kowloon Peninsula
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