Villages in Kowloon – Chuk Yuen Village

The demolition of old villages in Kowloon began in the 1950’s, at the time the post-war influx of refugees created a need for dwelling space. The Government hence started to remove villages for putting up resettlement buildings, Chuk Yuen Village was one of them.

Chuk Yuen Village was an old village located in today’s Wong Tai Sin. The villagers of Chuk Yuen Village had tended the fields for centuries, until the opening of Wong Tai Sin Temple attracted visitors and the village prospered when many villagers turned to selling goods.

In 1957, the Government planned to remove Chuk Yuen Village for the expansion of the resettlement area in Wong Tai Sin. The villagers objected and other villages in East Kowloon echoed. Together they formed the ‘Thirteen Villages Association’. The villagers protested and they gained support from the government of the Mainland China, but nothing was changed. At the end of that year, Chuk Yuen Village was almost gone. The seven-storey resettlement blocks were then erected on the site. They gradually became a public estate.