Night markets () in

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 Delt ...

are bazaars usually located in older areas like

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 P ...

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 ...

Sheung Wan Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper Dist ...

. Besides selling toys, clothes and food, some Hong Kong night markets also provide

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

to visitors, such as the

Temple Street A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

Night Market, which is popular with foreign visitors.

History

Night markets in Hong Kong first began as night bazaars, or 大笪地, which, in Cantonese, refers to vast public open spaces where people gather. Like many other

Asian countries This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia. It includes sovereign state, fully recognized states, states with limited but substantial international recognition, ''de facto'' states with little or no international recogn ...

, Hong Kong saw a growing trend of people gathering after work to socialise in open-air spaces. This trend gradually expanded to include other cultural and recreational activities and features, such as singing,

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

fortune-telling Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...

, local food stalls and

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

s. At the height of night markets, they provided Hong Kong’s less affluent citizenry with the best places for affordable everyday entertainment.

Gala Point was the most popular night bazaar, emerging as the "poor man's nightclub" in the 1840s. Not only did it serve as a significant recreational spot among locals, it was also one of Hong Kong's most popular tourist attractions between the 1970s and 1980s. The site was permanently closed in 1992 because of redevelopments in the area including the

Shun Tak Centre Shun Tak Centre () is a commercial and transport complex on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. It comprises a 4-storey podium containing a shopping centre and car park, two 38-storey office towers, and the Hong K ...

. While night markets no longer serve as key recreational spots for locals, their distinctive cultural features have attracted many foreigners, and today they remain as popular tourist attractions for visitors to the city. A key milestone in the history of night markets in Hong Kong was the launch of PMQ Night Market in 2014. Contemporary art products, including

handicrafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

, and fusion food, were introduced, adding new elements to the traditional night market. Bands were invited to perform shows at this market aimed mainly at Hong Kong young people. Despite the name, some night markets in Hong Kong open at noon in addition to their usual night hours. Most markets are closed on the first day of

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

List of night markets

This is a list of night markets in Hong Kong sorted by their locations and opening frequency.

Regularly open

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

:'' *

Gala Point ''

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

:'' * Ladies' Market (女人街) *

Night Market *

Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...

Jade Hawker Bazaar

Irregularly held

''Hong Kong Island:'' * Night Market PMQ Central ''

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

:'' *

Tai Po Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Market") on the north of Lam Tsue ...

Bamboo Theatre *

Sheung Shui Sheung Shui (, literally "Above-water") is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Sheung Shui Town, a part of this area, is part of the Fanling–Sheung Shui New Town in the North District of Hong Kong. Fanling Town is to its southea ...

Night Market * Tsing Yi Bamboo Theatre *

Leung King Estate The following is an overview of public housing estates in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), Sandwich Class Housing Scheme (SCHS), Flat-for-Sale Scheme (FFSS), Subsidised ...

Night Market ''Kowloon:'' *

Night Market *

Kweilin Street Night Market Kweilin Street Night Market () is a commercial and social activity that unlicensed hawkers set up their mobile food stores and stalls to sell local street foods and groceries in Kweilin Street (桂林街), Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong. Typically, ...

(桂林夜市) *

Sham Shui Po Night Market Sham Shui Po Night Market, also known as Kweilin Night Market, refers to the temporary night market in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong. It emerged during the Chinese New Year holiday in recent years and it is operated by hawkers who sell local street foods ...

Famous attractions

These regularly open night markets are famous for selling traditional

Hong Kong cuisine Hong Kong cuisine is mainly influenced by Cantonese cuisine, European cuisines (especially British cuisine) and non-Cantonese Chinese cuisines (especially Hakka, Teochew, Hokkien and Shanghainese), as well as Japanese, Korean and Southeast As ...

such as

egg puff An egg waffle is a spherical egg-based waffle popular in Hong Kong and Macau, consisting of an eggy leavened batter cooked between two plates of semi-spherical cells. They are usually served hot, and often eaten plain, although they may be serv ...

egg waffle An egg waffle is a spherical egg-based waffle popular in Hong Kong and Macau, consisting of an eggy leavened batter cooked between two plates of semi-spherical cells. They are usually served hot, and often eaten plain, although they may be serv ...

s, and

fishball 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 (material), binder such as tapioca ...

s. Ladies' Market (女人街) - A great variety of products sold at the Ladies' Market are for women, such as

accessories Accessory may refer to: * Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal In anatomy * Accessory bone * Accessory muscle * Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus * Accessory nerve In arts and entertainment * Accessory ( ...

and clothing. Products for men are also sold including: phone accessories,

backpacks A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

and

furnishings ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

etc. A large part of the market's reputation originates from its

bargaining In the social sciences, bargaining or haggling is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service debate the price or nature of a transaction. If the bargaining produces agreement on terms, the transaction takes plac ...

culture in that customers can bargain with shop owners for a cheaper price. In addition, the market is famous for selling fake branded products which resemble those of renowned brands . The fact that bargaining is encouraged and expected, and because of the variety of merchandise offered for sale, this market is one of the most popular tourist landmarks. Temple Street Night Market (廟街) -

Night Market possesses a number of diverse attractions. Like many night markets, this one is also has clusters of stalls selling clothes - mainly men’s wear. This market is also known for having many fortune-tellers whose

skills differ from one another. Some may look at the lines on the customer's face while others may read the palm of the customer’s hand so as to predict their future. The performance and shows at night also contribute to the market's fame.

Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of Ch ...

is occasionally performed which attract a lot of people, especially tourists wishing a taste of traditional Chinese culture. Yau Ma Tei Jade Hawker Bazaar (油麻地玉石市場) - The main attraction of the

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

Hawker Bazaar is indicated by its name. In this market, numerous stalls sell jade, and jade objects, of different quality, purity, colour and even thickness. Thousands and thousands of foreigners are fascinated by Jade, whose production is a high priority for Chinese officials.

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s are another big attraction at this night market as they are cheaper than jade.

Events

Mong Kok unrest

The authorities tried again in 2016 to crack down unlicensed stalls in

Night Market near Langham Place having turned a blind eye to the situation in the past. Local activists are opposed to any moves that are seen as threats to local traditions. Dozens of people gathered to defend the vendors after watching a video of the night market on a local activist's

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page. As officials tried to shut down a night food market in Mong Kok, hundreds of people confronted the police on Monday night. The standoff lasted all night, and finally finished at 8:00 a.m. the next morning. At least 54 people were arrested and dozens of people injured. Meanwhile, a police officer fired two gunshots in the air as a warning to violent defenders of the vendors.

Leung King Estate Night Market conflict

Food hawkers set up stalls outside the Leung King Plaza on the second day of

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named " Chinese New Year" becau ...

, 2 February. A group of security guards of unknown identity (due to the practice of outsourcing) confronted the hawkers, saying that opening stalls in the area around the Plaza is prohibited even though food hawkers have been selling traditional foods there for over 20 years. The hawkers were forced to leave. Some confronted the security guards which led to serious conflict. One hawker’s stall was pushed over by the guards, increasing the tension between both sides. Meanwhile, some security guards put up metal barricades to keep out the hawkers and block off the area. Residents were annoyed because the barricades blocked their ways home and were an inconvenience. The actions of the security guards also upset them. At one protest, until midnight over 200 people surrounded the area. There were violent conflicts and even journalists were injured.

References

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