Sung Wong Toi
Sung Wong Toi is an important historic relic in Kowloon, Hong Kong. While its remaining portion is now located in the Sung Wong Toi Garden (宋皇臺花園) in Ma Tau Wai, it was originally a 45 m tall boulder standing on the top of Sacred Hill (聖山) in Ma Tau Chung above Kowloon Bay.
Etymology
The name Sung Wong Toi literally means Terrace of the Sung kings. The stone is believed to have been a memorial to the last two boy emperors of the Southern Song dynasty, Zhao Shi and Zhao Bing, who temporarily lived in Hong Kong from 1277 to 1279.
In historical maps and documents, Sung Wong Toi is also known as Hill of the King of the Sung and Song Wong Toi in some occasions.
History
Song dynasty
According to historical records, when the child emperors Zhao Shi and Zhao Bing of the Song dynasty were fleeing south when the Song Empire was gradually being conquered by the Mongol Empire in the late 13th century, they took refuge at the Sacred Hill along the seashore. Zhao Shi died of illness in Hong Kong, while Zhao Bing died when the Song loyalist Lu Xiufu put him on his shoulders and jumped off a cliff following the defeat of Song by the Mongols at the naval Battle of Yamen.
