The Cartful selling mobile phone cases in Mong Kok

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, mobile stalls () are used by the street hawkers to sell inexpensive goods and

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

, like eggettes, fishballs and

cart noodles Cart noodle () is a noodle dish which became popular in Hong Kong and Macau in the 1950s through independent street vendors operating on roadsides and in public housing estates in low-income districts, using carts. Many street vendors have v ...

since the 1950s. This style of selling is part of

traditional culture. It reflects people’s ways of living and their spirits. In recent years, the operation of the mobile stalls faces challenges because of government policies and modernisation.

History

Hong Kong experienced economic downturn in the 1950s, meanwhile, refugees from the Mainland fled to Hong Kong constantly after the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, leading to an increase in population. People struggled to make a living, they started to operate mobile stalls using wooden carts with low production costs. With the portable carts, street vendors could get away in time from being arrested by the police. In the 1970s and 1980s, a wide variety of products were sold then. Besides food and snacks, household goods, clothing and kitchenware could be found in the mobile stalls. They are mostly located in

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...

and

Mong Kok Mong Kok (also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK) is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. Mong Kok is one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong. The area is characterised ...

Features

The mobile stalls sell mainly two kinds of products, street food and clothes. Some traditional street food such as eggettes, curry

fish balls Fish balls are rounded meat balls made from fish paste which are then boiled or deep fried. Similar in composition to fishcake, fish balls are often made from fish mince or surimi, salt, and a culinary binder such as tapioca flour, corn, or ...

and fried

chestnuts The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelated ...

are favored by teenagers. These $10-odd snacks are cheap but delicious. They smell and taste good so people are willing to line up and wait for them. The mobile stalls owners make the snacks once they are ordered so as to keep them hot and fresh. Apart from the street snacks, the carful also sells clothes, sometimes handbags and other accessories. Women love buying free-sized leggings and socks. Though customers cannot try the products on, they are willing to buy them.

Owners and locations

There are mainly two types of owners which are the unemployed middle-aged and the unlicensed hawkers. Both of them are the main support of their family while they cannot secure their jobs. As a result, they choose to run the mobile stalls so they can make a decent living and avoid paying high rents. The mobile stalls are operated by family units. Most of the mobile stalls can be found near the public housings, schools and MTR stations, because a steady stream of people in these places helps increase their business turnover.

Relationship with Hong Kong

The mobile stalls reflect Hong Kong's traditional values of diligence and a fast-paced lifestyle. With a small amount of capital and time, owners can earn a huge profit from the day's sales by moving their carts around without paying high rents. This traditional hawking style is threatened by government policies and modernisation. Under the law, unlicensed hawking is prohibited and many mobile stalls have been demolished; the government nevertheless sets up markets in different districts like Tin Sau Hui ( 天秀墟) and Wan Chai Tai Yuen Street ( 太原街) where mobile stalls continue to gather. Some citizens support the government’s plan since they think it is more hygienic and peaceful without the mobile stalls on the streets, while others object to government policy.

References

External links