Monday, June 29, 2015

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Lion Rock High Level No.2 Primary Service Reservoir, Kowloon

The place where Grant Page decides to work out the kinks in his climbing rope is the Lion Rock High Level No.2 Primary Service Reservoir. It's a reservoir, like many in the area, that the clever engineers at the Water Supplies Dept (W.S.D) have covered with a concrete roof and turned the roof section into a usable piece of recreational land. In this case the space above the reservoir is currently the site of a 'Little league' baseball ground referred to by the Little League players as Lion Rock 2.

In the film it looks as though it may have been newly completed because of the utter bareness of the thing and the fact that the retaining wall slope is completely free of vegetation. These days you can't even see the thing thanks to natural growth.

Iconic Lion Rock in the background

Once at the reservoir, Page attaches a hook to his climbing rope and proceeds to climb each step on the shaved hillside (each one about 30 ft high) by using his rope as a grapple. Giving it a good heave each time to get it to catch on the lip of the concrete above. All quite impressive.


Who needs the Peak Tram when you have a rope, a grappling hook and a penchant for danger? Page makes it to the top of the retaining wall and ponders the best method on getting back down. Well, I guess as one of the world's foremost experts at vertical zip-lining, the answer is an easy one. So he fixes the rope to the top of the hill and plunges forth using a bit of old carpet to stop his hands from burning to the bone.


We get a quick glimpse of the curved road near Lion Rock Tunnel (top picture) before Page hurls himself off the top in a quick taster of what he does later on Lion Rock.

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