Hong Kong — The Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey movie set exhibition opened at Kowloon Walled City Park on Friday, recreating daily life in Hong Kong’s “semi-lawless” enclave in the 1980s through 50 sets of the award-winning film.

One of Hong Kong SAR government’s nine new “tourist-hotspot” projects, the free exhibition will run for three years, aiming to attract Hong Kong film fans to the particular pocket of the city and enhancing the travel experience of tourists interested in history and culture.

During the opening ceremony, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Cheuk Wing-hing praised the exhibition as a prime example of screen tourism, committing to leverage the influence of Hong Kong films to develop more film-themed tourism projects.

Originally built as a military fort during the Qing Dynasty, the Walled City became a de jure enclave after the United Kingdom leased the New Territories in 1898. Its population surged with the influx of refugees after World War II broke out. By the 1980s, this 26,000 square meter enclave was one of the world’s most densely populated areas, housing 35,000 residents in high-rise tenements constructed without official oversight. Before its demolition in 1987, the walled city's narrow alleys were notorious for drugs, vice, and illegal medical practices.

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Set in the Walled City during the 1980s, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is a 2024 Hong Kong action thriller that has become the second-highest-grossing domestic film in Hong Kong's history. Celebrated for its vivid portrayal of life in this unique community, it won the Best Film award at the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards.

The exhibition features sets that depict typical locations within the Walled City, including a diner, a store, a hair salon, a dentist's clinic, and a fish ball workshop. In addition to the film sets, a multimedia display area allows visitors to experience how residents of the Walled City lived with the roar of plane engines taking off and landing at the nearby Kai Tak airport.

Traditional Hong Kong handicrafts and architectural elements are also showcased, emphasizing the city's unique characteristics. Notably, a large flower plaque at the entrance features the hand-written Chinese characters for "Kowloon Walled City."

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