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Tours in Hong Kong |
If Hong Kong is the ‘City of Life', then life is a mall. Some speculate that Hong Kongers need to shop to escape their cramped dwellings. Others simply ascribe the shopping mania to disposable income, greed and - increasingly, hoards of affluent shopaholic visitors from mainland China. The large numbers of missionary churches around town may owe their business to guilt, stemming from the widespread habit of shopping right through Sunday. The prime shopping areas are bedlam at weekends and merely chaotic during the rest of the week.
Once famous for bargain electronics and imitation brand-names, Hong Kong is no longer as cheap as it once was and prices are now closer to European or American averages. Real bargain hunters would be better off going to Bangkok or mainland China. Shops selling Chinese art objects and souvenirs cluster around the escalator up to the Mid-Levels and along nearby Cat Street. However, any bargain hunter also planning to visit mainland China should do their research in Hong Kong but save their purchases for north of the border. Within Hong Kong, Shanghai Tang, right by Central MTR station, is probably the best venue for quality Chinese goods - silks, fabrics, ornaments and furniture.
Mall rats in Hong Kong have plenty of warrens to choose from. The swishest of the lot, IFC Mall in Central, has everything from Swarovski crystal to McDonald's burgers, Pacific Place, in Admiralty, has three floors of almost entirely luxury brands, while The Landmark and Prince's Arcade vie for the custom of chic Central.
Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong MTR station, in northern Kowloon, is worth the long trip from Central, for its variety and quality. Causeway Bay has the big Japanese department stores, Sogo and Mitsukoshi, as well as the towering Times Square. Tourist items and souvenirs, often very tacky, are best purchased either along the hotel strip of Nathan Road on Kowloon Side or at Stanley Market.
There are computer superstores at Causeway Bay, Wanchai and Mongkok, full of tiny booths selling the silicon equivalent of Hong Kong tailoring and teenage hustlers pushing pirated software. However, for most electrical goods, there are worse places than the many branches of the Fortress chain.
Hong Kong has many markets. One of the most delightful is the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, on Prince Edward Road West, in Kowloon (see Further Distractions). Open daily 0700-2000, this market is primarily concerned with the sale of song birds. Nearby, on Tung Choi Street, is a flower market and a goldfish market.
Standard opening hours are daily 0930-1900 and later in many cases. Hong Kongers bridle at the very idea of a sales tax, so visitors can forget about hoarding their receipts until the government finally decides to plug its deficit this way.
Once famous for bargain electronics and imitation brand-names, Hong Kong is no longer as cheap as it once was and prices are now closer to European or American averages. Real bargain hunters would be better off going to Bangkok or mainland China. Shops selling Chinese art objects and souvenirs cluster around the escalator up to the Mid-Levels and along nearby Cat Street. However, any bargain hunter also planning to visit mainland China should do their research in Hong Kong but save their purchases for north of the border. Within Hong Kong, Shanghai Tang, right by Central MTR station, is probably the best venue for quality Chinese goods - silks, fabrics, ornaments and furniture.
Mall rats in Hong Kong have plenty of warrens to choose from. The swishest of the lot, IFC Mall in Central, has everything from Swarovski crystal to McDonald's burgers, Pacific Place, in Admiralty, has three floors of almost entirely luxury brands, while The Landmark and Prince's Arcade vie for the custom of chic Central.
Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong MTR station, in northern Kowloon, is worth the long trip from Central, for its variety and quality. Causeway Bay has the big Japanese department stores, Sogo and Mitsukoshi, as well as the towering Times Square. Tourist items and souvenirs, often very tacky, are best purchased either along the hotel strip of Nathan Road on Kowloon Side or at Stanley Market.
There are computer superstores at Causeway Bay, Wanchai and Mongkok, full of tiny booths selling the silicon equivalent of Hong Kong tailoring and teenage hustlers pushing pirated software. However, for most electrical goods, there are worse places than the many branches of the Fortress chain.
Hong Kong has many markets. One of the most delightful is the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, on Prince Edward Road West, in Kowloon (see Further Distractions). Open daily 0700-2000, this market is primarily concerned with the sale of song birds. Nearby, on Tung Choi Street, is a flower market and a goldfish market.
Standard opening hours are daily 0930-1900 and later in many cases. Hong Kongers bridle at the very idea of a sales tax, so visitors can forget about hoarding their receipts until the government finally decides to plug its deficit this way.
View Our Airport Guides for Hong Kong:
Hong Kong International Airport