There is no better way to describe the atmosphere of the Kowloon Walled City than with the words of Leung Ping-kwan, a well-known Hong Kong poet, novelist, essayist, scholar, important cultural figure of the city, and recipient of the Hong Kong Medal of Honor. In his book City of Darkness, he wrote the following: "Here, prostitutes installed themselves on one side of the street while a priest preached and handed out powdered milk to the poor on the other; social workers gave guidance while drug addicts squatted under the stairs getting high; what were children's games centers by day became strip-show venues by night. It was a very complex place, difficult to generalize about, a place that seemed frightening but where most people continued to lead normal lives. A place just like the rest of Hong Kong." Leung Ping-kwan - City of Darkness, p. 120