New Kowloon is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak. It covers the present-day Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin districts, and part of Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City districts.
History
Historically, territories south of Boundary Street (known as Kowloon and Stonecutter's Island) were ceded from Qing China to Britain in 1860 by the Convention of Peking. Territories north of Boundary Street (later known as New Kowloon) remained part of China until it was leased as part of the New Territories to Britain in 1898 for 99 years by the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory (also known as the Second Convention of Peking). The area of New Kowloon was defined by law in 1937 to expand room for urban development. In practice, area south of the Kowloon ranges stretching from Lei Yue Mun strait in the east to Mei Foo Sun Chuen in the west - that is, both Kowloon and New Kowloon - are known collectively as Kowloon. For example, a postal address in Kwun Tong will identify "Kowloon" as its regional destination, even though it is technically in New Kowloon.
Current situation
In modern day conversations, the term "New Kowloon" is now rarely heard in Hong Kong. New Kowloon is no longer regarded as part of the New Territories, but as a part of the Kowloon urban area beyond Boundary Street. Nevertheless, the legal definitions of Kowloon, New Kowloon and New Territories remain unchanged - New Kowloon has remained legally part of the New Territories instead of Kowloon. On July 1, 1997, the territories on both sides of Boundary Street (ceded and leased respectively) were transferred to the People's Republic of China, along with the rest of Hong Kong.
The designation "New Kowloon" still has some legal implications, however. Because New Kowloon technically remains part of the New Territories in law, privately owned land in New Kowloon is held by way of a land lease from the Hong Kong government, subject to rent payments.
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