Video essay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqqGUp-prOg
Introduction
In Hong Kong, squatter houses typically refer to makeshift homes constructed illegally, often found on the outskirts of the city or in remote mountainous areas. These squatter areas form a unique urban landscape in Hong Kong, bearing witness to the transformation of the region from a fishing village to an international metropolis, and illustrating the evolution of living conditions for a segment of the population. These rudimentary dwellings are usually built from temporary materials such as metal sheets, wooden planks, and plastic cloth, offering only basic facilities and a challenging living environment.
The existence of squatter houses reflects the complexity of Hong Kong’s housing issues, especially in the context of skyrocketing property prices and scarce housing resources, where many low-income families and immigrants can only afford this low-cost type of housing. Although the government has been actively working to demolish these squatter houses and improve housing conditions by providing more public housing and appropriate resettlement plans, the cultural and historical value of the squatter communities, as well as the social bonds among the residents, remain a focal point of societal attention.
Main Body
Several well-known squatter areas exist in Hong Kong, with Kowloon Walled City being the most famous, documented in numerous films and literary works, though it no longer exists. This video essay focuses on the lesser-documented century-old squatter settlement, Cha Kwo Ling Village, capturing its current state as the primary filming location and subject.
Unlike its currently desolate atmosphere, Cha Kwo Ling Village once thrived similarly to Kowloon Walled City, with a population exceeding thirty thousand, densely packed with shops, restaurants, and mahjong parlors. The prosperity of the village is best epitomized by the Tin Hau Temple established during the Guangxu period of the Qing dynasty and the multiple championship-winning dragon boat, “Cha Kwo Ling Hip Yi Dragon.”
Today, Cha Kwo Ling Village is a shadow of its former self, with fewer than 300 residents remaining. Due to non-compliant building structures and significant safety hazards, the government has decided to demolish this century-old village in 2025, just like Kowloon Walled City. While this reflects the progress of the times, the rich cultural and historical value of the squatter community may be lost to history forever.
In this video, extensive use of moving shots aims to give viewers a first-person experience of walking through the village. Several static and rotating shots have been added without any color correction or special effects, striving to preserve the most authentic conditions. The conclusion features an unedited original video and ambient noise recorded on-site, as if the answers to what history demands as a price are drifting in the wind.
Li Zhengliang
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