-
Welcome to 28DaysLater.co.uk - 28DL - The UK Urban Exploring / Urban Exploration / Urbex Forums. Create an account | Login | Request new password
Report - Hong Kong ARP networks. 2017
- Thread starter drhowser
- Start date
Loving these excellent find
Fantastic report man, good to see something different 
Dude, these are fucking amazing! Well done, love the way you've discovered so many too. Mad fuckin' run!
I expect to see the bottom end of Tonkin Street Nullah, below the largest drain stairs in the world - theres a lid - next time. You got two years. Keep at it! :P
I expect to see the bottom end of Tonkin Street Nullah, below the largest drain stairs in the world - theres a lid - next time. You got two years. Keep at it! :P
Next up are networks 29 and 30, which are within a few hundred metres of each other.
Unfortunately there is no sign of network 30 remaining. There is now a large district substation building directly over the tunnels. I know of one other network (No 28) which is in the same situation, where the electrical company have confirmed they now use the tunnels to route cables, so I suspect that the same applies here too.
The plans seem to suggest a portal within the boundaries of the substation, so maybe one day I'll find an answer.
For now though, it's a secure as you would expect a fairly major piece of infrastructure to be.
Network 29 happily has been left in a much more original state.
The portals here are all raised, with the tunnels all quite a way above ground level. Probably why this one has been left unmolested. Inside you can see that this one is a lot closer to being finished. The tunnel walls although bare stone have been faced off and smoothed, there are quite a few brick structures with period signs painted own to the walls and there are also the remains of mountings for cables and lighting. There are concrete floors and drains are visible in places too.
According to the CEDD records, 405m of tunnels are accessible from an original 420. They are 2-3.5m wide and 2-2.5m high. Again plenty of lovely fresh air was circulating throughout.
View attachment 742021
The portals look to have been brought back into the hillside with modern concrete reinforcing close to each one.
Below you can see that I seem to have been on a dry day, looking at this the water level can be a lot higher at the wrong time of year.
This is from the other side of the brick wall with the vent above and was actually a water tank.
Here it is possible to see charge holes drilled into the rock that were never used, if you look carefully towards the top of the row of holes there is a drill left stuck into the rock too.
Unfortunately there is no sign of network 30 remaining. There is now a large district substation building directly over the tunnels. I know of one other network (No 28) which is in the same situation, where the electrical company have confirmed they now use the tunnels to route cables, so I suspect that the same applies here too.
The plans seem to suggest a portal within the boundaries of the substation, so maybe one day I'll find an answer.
For now though, it's a secure as you would expect a fairly major piece of infrastructure to be.
Network 29 happily has been left in a much more original state.
The portals here are all raised, with the tunnels all quite a way above ground level. Probably why this one has been left unmolested. Inside you can see that this one is a lot closer to being finished. The tunnel walls although bare stone have been faced off and smoothed, there are quite a few brick structures with period signs painted own to the walls and there are also the remains of mountings for cables and lighting. There are concrete floors and drains are visible in places too.
According to the CEDD records, 405m of tunnels are accessible from an original 420. They are 2-3.5m wide and 2-2.5m high. Again plenty of lovely fresh air was circulating throughout.
View attachment 742021
The portals look to have been brought back into the hillside with modern concrete reinforcing close to each one.
Below you can see that I seem to have been on a dry day, looking at this the water level can be a lot higher at the wrong time of year.
This is from the other side of the brick wall with the vent above and was actually a water tank.
Here it is possible to see charge holes drilled into the rock that were never used, if you look carefully towards the top of the row of holes there is a drill left stuck into the rock too.
Dude, these are fucking amazing! Well done, love the way you've discovered so many too. Mad fuckin' run!
I expect to see the bottom end of Tonkin Street Nullah, below the largest drain stairs in the world - theres a lid - next time. You got two years. Keep at it!
I'll make that a priority, just for you.
Network K1a- Kowloon
Shelters on the Kowloon side have proved to be a lot harder to find information about, I've variously read of five, six or seven shelters and found almost no information about them anywhere. I need to make a trip to the central library, but that's not likely to happen soon..
I found one local history website that has some information- https://gwulo.com/node/12608 then completely forgot about going to look. Purely by chance I happened to walk past the substation shown there and remembered to check.
Can confirm that the mystery door is definitely not related but is only a void space under the concrete plinth that the substation sits on. It's also a complete fucker to get to.. Never mind the fire and ambulance stations on the other side of the road, but getting round to the back of the substation involves an hour or so of being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Happily though, the way to reach that leads right past this door.
The only official information I managed to find is as follows-
Air Raid Precaution Tunnels: Tunnel Network K1A Location: Nathan Road, Kowloon
Status: Identified Pre-1950 Structure Category: Military
Description
The tunnel walls consist of uncoursed granite rubble with concrete lintels and chunam type fill over the crown. The tunnels were approximately 2 metres high and 2.5 metres in width. It was also noted that the tunnels originally also had timber supports, but it was believed that the wood was looted and no longer present in the 1970’s during the survey (Mott, Hay, Anderson 1978). As well, the same report noted that the tunnels showed signs of deteriorating condition through floor buckling and cracks in the side walls.
History
Tunnel Network K1A is located to the east of Nathan Road, just north of Cliff Road and running in a north/south direction in the direction of Waterloo Road. Limited information is available on the history of this set of tunnels, although they were built for the same purpose as network K1, i.e. as air raid precaution tunnels. It is believed that the southernmost section of the tunnel system was demolished for construction works sometime between the 1950’s and 1970’s, although the details of this work could not be established (Mott, Hay Anderson 1978). The southernmost section of the tunnel network was demolished as part of past construction works.
Significance
The available information on this tunnel network is limited. The physical description of the tunnels reveals that they were constructed in a similar manner as other air raid precaution tunnels in Hong Kong. Some sections of the tunnel network appear to have been affected by later construction projects and parts of the network are sealed up and may have been destroyed by the previous works. The limited information available and the incomplete nature of the tunnel network means that the current assessment of heritage significance of the tunnels must be placed as undetermined, as it does not represent a complete network and a detailed history is unavailable.
Upon entering you find a reasonably long straight tunnel section. This looks like it's had fairly recent attention, with the lintels looking new and the walls looking as though they have also been faced not such a long time ago.
After 30-40m or so there is a small room at either side of the tunnel. This is looking back towards the street door.
Inside we can see that the lintels look much the same as in the previous tunnels, so I guess they are original. I've no idea what the purpose of these are, possibly they were other tunnels which have been filled.
Just beyond these is a T junction, to the right possibly 50m of tunnel before a dead end.
To the left is a similar tunnel which quickly becomes flooded.
And more flooded!
At this stage I was still expecting to come out of the portal next to the substation, so carried on regardless, expecting dryer ground round the corner.
Unfortunately all I got was wet shoes and another spraycrete wall a couple of feet later on. Turning back and heading out I realised that the blocky structure is another water tank, so possibly this network also saw some wartime use.
If I ever make it to the records section in the library then maybe I can find some details about the original extent of the tunnels here, but until then I'm afraid this is as much asI can say..
Shelters on the Kowloon side have proved to be a lot harder to find information about, I've variously read of five, six or seven shelters and found almost no information about them anywhere. I need to make a trip to the central library, but that's not likely to happen soon..
I found one local history website that has some information- https://gwulo.com/node/12608 then completely forgot about going to look. Purely by chance I happened to walk past the substation shown there and remembered to check.
Can confirm that the mystery door is definitely not related but is only a void space under the concrete plinth that the substation sits on. It's also a complete fucker to get to.. Never mind the fire and ambulance stations on the other side of the road, but getting round to the back of the substation involves an hour or so of being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Happily though, the way to reach that leads right past this door.
The only official information I managed to find is as follows-
Air Raid Precaution Tunnels: Tunnel Network K1A Location: Nathan Road, Kowloon
Status: Identified Pre-1950 Structure Category: Military
Description
The tunnel walls consist of uncoursed granite rubble with concrete lintels and chunam type fill over the crown. The tunnels were approximately 2 metres high and 2.5 metres in width. It was also noted that the tunnels originally also had timber supports, but it was believed that the wood was looted and no longer present in the 1970’s during the survey (Mott, Hay, Anderson 1978). As well, the same report noted that the tunnels showed signs of deteriorating condition through floor buckling and cracks in the side walls.
History
Tunnel Network K1A is located to the east of Nathan Road, just north of Cliff Road and running in a north/south direction in the direction of Waterloo Road. Limited information is available on the history of this set of tunnels, although they were built for the same purpose as network K1, i.e. as air raid precaution tunnels. It is believed that the southernmost section of the tunnel system was demolished for construction works sometime between the 1950’s and 1970’s, although the details of this work could not be established (Mott, Hay Anderson 1978). The southernmost section of the tunnel network was demolished as part of past construction works.
Significance
The available information on this tunnel network is limited. The physical description of the tunnels reveals that they were constructed in a similar manner as other air raid precaution tunnels in Hong Kong. Some sections of the tunnel network appear to have been affected by later construction projects and parts of the network are sealed up and may have been destroyed by the previous works. The limited information available and the incomplete nature of the tunnel network means that the current assessment of heritage significance of the tunnels must be placed as undetermined, as it does not represent a complete network and a detailed history is unavailable.
Upon entering you find a reasonably long straight tunnel section. This looks like it's had fairly recent attention, with the lintels looking new and the walls looking as though they have also been faced not such a long time ago.
After 30-40m or so there is a small room at either side of the tunnel. This is looking back towards the street door.
Inside we can see that the lintels look much the same as in the previous tunnels, so I guess they are original. I've no idea what the purpose of these are, possibly they were other tunnels which have been filled.
Just beyond these is a T junction, to the right possibly 50m of tunnel before a dead end.
To the left is a similar tunnel which quickly becomes flooded.
And more flooded!
At this stage I was still expecting to come out of the portal next to the substation, so carried on regardless, expecting dryer ground round the corner.
Unfortunately all I got was wet shoes and another spraycrete wall a couple of feet later on. Turning back and heading out I realised that the blocky structure is another water tank, so possibly this network also saw some wartime use.
If I ever make it to the records section in the library then maybe I can find some details about the original extent of the tunnels here, but until then I'm afraid this is as much asI can say..
Network K4
As seems to be the case with all the Kowloon shelters, there is almost no information available online. I've still not made time to go to the records section and do some proper research, but in my defence , I've also not had and days off work recently..
I did find a little information from an old government survey, but it's not much.
Air Raid Precaution Tunnels: Tunnel Network K4Location: Chatham Road, Ho Man TinAs seems to be the case with all the Kowloon shelters, there is almost no information available online. I've still not made time to go to the records section and do some proper research, but in my defence , I've also not had and days off work recently..
I did find a little information from an old government survey, but it's not much.
Status: Identified Pre-1950 StructureCategory: Military
Description
This tunnel network is located in the area between Chatham Road, Fat Kwong Street, WuhuStreet and Gillies Ave. The majority of the tunnels were constructed of mortared randommasonry side walls with precast reinforced concrete lintels with a layer of chunam fill over thecrown. The remainder of the tunnels were unlined and localised enlargements were present. Itwas noted that some sections of the tunnels had been intersected by later construction projectsand that the tunnels were sealed off in these places. At the time of the inspection in 1978, thetunnels were found to be in good condition (Mott, Hay, Anderson 1978).
History
These air raid precaution tunnels were built in the vicinity of the dockyards and industrial areasof Whampoa and would have served for shelter for the workers and residents in this highlytargeted area. There is very limited information on the utilisation and closure of the tunnels.
Significance
The available information on this tunnel network is limited. The physical description of thetunnels reveals that they were constructed in a similar manner as other air raid precautiontunnels in Hong Kong. Some sections of the tunnel network appear to have been affected bylater construction projects and parts of the network are sealed up and may have been destroyedby the previous works. The limited information available and the incomplete nature of thetunnel network means that the current assessment of heritage significance of the tunnels mustbe placed as undetermined, as it does not represent a complete network and a detailed history isunavailable.
Since that survey was done though, the MTR extension and the new station at Ho Man Tin have meant that sections of this network have been backfilled and are now inaccessible. There is still a good amount of the shelter remaining, but I've no idea what was there originally.
As ever, inside here was brutally humid but thankfully seemed fairly well ventilated and dry.
Looking back towards the entrance, this is the only portal that remains.
Ahead is another of the brick water tanks and to the left another of the small side rooms with the heavy hinges suggesting something secure.
Signs of some older reinforcing works.
And some of the more recent concrete, the end of the tunnel is completely filled now and you can see some reinforcing work to the side of the tunnel too.
Looking back from the other side of the water tank, the bottom of this was filled with some alarming looking orange slime!
Another concreted tunnel end, although this looks to be from some older work, I think on the other side of this is now a newish road.
Finally another section cut straight from rock and left unlined.
As ever, inside here was brutally humid but thankfully seemed fairly well ventilated and dry.
Looking back towards the entrance, this is the only portal that remains.
Ahead is another of the brick water tanks and to the left another of the small side rooms with the heavy hinges suggesting something secure.
Signs of some older reinforcing works.
And some of the more recent concrete, the end of the tunnel is completely filled now and you can see some reinforcing work to the side of the tunnel too.
Looking back from the other side of the water tank, the bottom of this was filled with some alarming looking orange slime!
Another concreted tunnel end, although this looks to be from some older work, I think on the other side of this is now a newish road.
Finally another section cut straight from rock and left unlined.
Network 2
This one turned into something of an unicorn for me, I missed a golden chance to get inside when I first moved to Hong Kong but wasted the opportunity thinking there wasn't any urgency.
As it turns out, this is one of the handful of shelters that seems to be actively maintained. The thing is, you see, it is built under land that houses a former British Army garrison, which now belongs to the PLA and is designated Military Closed Area.
All records of this shelter have been designated confidential and removed from the public record, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I was assuming that there would be at least a connection to the army buildings above, so it's fair to say this was reasonably a nervous explore!
To add to the fun, the remaining portals are right on one of the busiest roads through Hong Kong and directly opposite the police headquarters.. Good times!
I did mange to find a couple of historic photos showing the portals, but that is basically everything online at the moment.
Here's one showing it as it is today.
There are three remaining portals, with only one that opens. The middle one is bricked up and backfilled and the right hand one has no lock, but shows plenty of signs of people trying to crowbar it open.
Helpfully there were survey plans hanging up inside. Paget house is the barracks building. Note the confidential designation.
The section immediately after the portal was flooded and I didn't stop to take photos, but then, worryingly the first dry part looks like it's been swept!
This is looking back towards the bricked up portal, the tunnel ahead has been filled with rubble to the height of the hole in the wall.
Interestingly there were several areas where tunnels had been bricked up and then broken through again.
Tunnels are all in good condition and look like they are taken care of.
The tunnel above leads to network 9 on Star Street which I have posted previously, there is now connection between the networks, but you can see where there would have been a spiral staircase connecting them. No photos from there I'm afraid, it was too humid to be able to do anything!
Another dead end tunnel, I think this would have been portal E on the map.
Close to here we found a wet muddy section with a lot of fresh looking boot prints in.. As if we weren't already on edge enough. Keep in mind that we were still expecting to find a link to the site above!
Ahead here is the blocked tunnel again, this tunnel is between points 4 and 8 on the plan, so directly underneath the barracks, probably explaining the reinforcing work. I'm happy to say that there wasn't any link to the building too.
Finally looking back towards the entrance again.
This one turned into something of an unicorn for me, I missed a golden chance to get inside when I first moved to Hong Kong but wasted the opportunity thinking there wasn't any urgency.
As it turns out, this is one of the handful of shelters that seems to be actively maintained. The thing is, you see, it is built under land that houses a former British Army garrison, which now belongs to the PLA and is designated Military Closed Area.
All records of this shelter have been designated confidential and removed from the public record, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I was assuming that there would be at least a connection to the army buildings above, so it's fair to say this was reasonably a nervous explore!
To add to the fun, the remaining portals are right on one of the busiest roads through Hong Kong and directly opposite the police headquarters.. Good times!
I did mange to find a couple of historic photos showing the portals, but that is basically everything online at the moment.
Here's one showing it as it is today.
There are three remaining portals, with only one that opens. The middle one is bricked up and backfilled and the right hand one has no lock, but shows plenty of signs of people trying to crowbar it open.
Helpfully there were survey plans hanging up inside. Paget house is the barracks building. Note the confidential designation.
The section immediately after the portal was flooded and I didn't stop to take photos, but then, worryingly the first dry part looks like it's been swept!
This is looking back towards the bricked up portal, the tunnel ahead has been filled with rubble to the height of the hole in the wall.
Interestingly there were several areas where tunnels had been bricked up and then broken through again.
Tunnels are all in good condition and look like they are taken care of.
The tunnel above leads to network 9 on Star Street which I have posted previously, there is now connection between the networks, but you can see where there would have been a spiral staircase connecting them. No photos from there I'm afraid, it was too humid to be able to do anything!
Another dead end tunnel, I think this would have been portal E on the map.
Close to here we found a wet muddy section with a lot of fresh looking boot prints in.. As if we weren't already on edge enough. Keep in mind that we were still expecting to find a link to the site above!
Ahead here is the blocked tunnel again, this tunnel is between points 4 and 8 on the plan, so directly underneath the barracks, probably explaining the reinforcing work. I'm happy to say that there wasn't any link to the building too.
Finally looking back towards the entrance again.
Similar threads
