Eight Mountains of Kowloon

View of the Mountains of Kowloon from Hong Kong Island
Kowloon City in front of Lion Rock and other Mountains of Kowloon

The Eight Mountains of Kowloon (Chinese: 九龍群山) are eight prominent mountains in Hong Kong that serve as a natural border between the Kowloon area and the New Territories.[1] The eight mountains are: Kowloon Peak, Tung Shan, Tate's Cairn, Temple Hill, Unicorn Ridge, Lion Rock, Beacon Hill and Crow's Nest.

Incidentally, the name Kowloon stems from the term nine (kow) dragons (loon) (Chinese: 九龍), alluding to the eight mountains plus a Chinese emperor, the Emperor Bing of Song, who had fled to Hong Kong after being targeted by Mongol troops.[2] In Ancient China, the Emperor used to be revered like a dragon and was the only person who could wear robes depicting a dragon.

  1. ^ Dillon, Michael (2016-12-01). Encyclopedia of Chinese History. Taylor & Francis. p. 358. ISBN 978-1-317-81716-1.
  2. ^ Fallon, Steve. (2006) Hong Kong and Macau. Lonely Planet Publishing. ISBN 981-258-246-0