Cha Kwo Ling Village 1.96

Cha Kwo Ling is a hill in the eastern New Kowloon of Hong Kong, and the area around it. It is adjacent to Victoria Harbour and located to the west of Yau Tong and southwest of Lam Tin. Administratively, it belongs to the Kwun Tong District. The northeastern entrance to the Eastern Harbour Crossing is located in this area.The Cha Kwo Ling Village, described as one of the last squatter villages in Hong Kong, has a population of approximately 2,400. It is located approximately 1.4 km northwest of Lei Yue Mun, adjacent to the Laguna City development. It lies at the foot of the hill and stretches along Cha Kwo Ling Road, which was built on reclaimed land and separates the village from the coast.HistoryCha Kwo Ling Village was established before Hong Kong became a British colony. Cha Kwo Ling became a major Hakka settlement after the establishment of Victoria City in 1841. The foundation of city drew a large demand of stone. Skillful Hakka people set up a quarry in the stone-rich Cha Kwo Ling. It was one of four quarry hills and one of the 13 major village districts in eastern New Kowloon. The usage of new building materials later made the demand for stone drop. The population profile changed during the Civil War in China, when penniless refugees from mainland China settled in and around the original mining village, building makeshift shacks in a maze of dark alleys. At its peak between the 1950s and the 1970s, the village had a population of about 20,0000. Between 1983 and 2006, three big fires burned down many of the squatter houses and many villagers were relocated to public housing estates.