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To Kwa Wan Road | 土瓜灣道
To Kwa Wan Road is a major thoroughfare in the Kowloon City district of eastern Kowloon, located just to the west of the old Kai Tak airport. The buildings in this block comprise the eastern edge of the famous “13 Streets” neighbourhood (十三街). The 11 parallel streets inside the zone are named after animals which are auspicious in Chinese culture, such as dragon, phoenix, swallow, crane and horse. These dilapidated apartment blocks were built between 1958 and 1960 and are under review by the Urban Renewal Authority for redevelopment.
This panorama demonstrates some typical features of Hong Kong architecture. The distinctive curved building end is common in older parts of the city, but something rarely seen in more modern architecture. The apartment blocks in this part of the city were restricted to eight storeys in height, to allow for the low-passing aircraft on approach to Kai Tak airport.