The Most Densely Populated Area in the History of Mankind

In March 1993, the demolition of an area the size of two football fields began in Hong Kong. What was initially a Chinese military outpost had turned into a Chinese enclave within British Kowloon when, in 1898, the Qing Dynasty leased the New Territories to the British Empire for 99 years.

This historic peculiarity meant that, henceforth, neither Chinese forces nor British law enforcement could enter the area out of fear of initiating a diplomatic battle between the two empires. This political imbroglio was carried over to the Nationalists when they took power in 1912, and eventually to the Communists after they defeated the Nationalists in 1949.

After the Second World War, Chinese refugees and Hong Kong residents involved in criminal activities took advantage of the absence of legal authority in the area to set up businesses. Drugs, prostitution, gambling, and illegal dentistry thrived.

As time passed, the population grew. From an estimated 10,000 inhabitants in 1971, the population reached approximately 50,000 in 1990, before the area was demolished. If these numbers are accurate, this would amount to a staggering density of 1,900,000 inhabitants per square kilometre or 5,000,000 inhabitants per square mile.

That area was none other than the infamous Kowloon Walled City.