Exploring Kowloon Markets in Hong Kong

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Exploring Kowloon Markets in Hong Kong

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Table Of Contents
  1. The Flower Market
  2. The Bird and Pet Markets
  3. More Street Markets

While I was in Hong Kong I didn’t actually stay on Hong Kong Island (which is where you’ll find the iconic skyline of Hong Kong). I stayed across Victoria Harbour in Kowloon, a busy urban area of Hong Kong. I loved staying in Kowloon and I wanted to learn a little bit more about this area so I went to explore the Kowloon Markets with Urban Adventures. Hong Kong is known for its shopping from high-end designers to local markets. Some of the best and most unique markets you can find are in Kowloon. Here is some of what I saw on my tour.

The Flower Market

We started at the Flower Market, which consists of several blocks of stalls and shops selling flowers, and other plants. Hong Kong has a high population density and so most people aren’t buying flowers and plants to plant in a garden. Instead, people buy plants and such as part of Feng Shui, which is a philosophy of balancing energy in a home or environment. Many people buy plants and flowers to use in religious altars in homes as well.

Outside of the Flower Market. This is a street view of part of the Flower Market. It smelled so good at this market.
Floral Arrangement at Hong Kong Flower Market in Kowloon.
Yellow Flower at the Flower Market in Kowloon.
Bonsai is actually a Japanese art form of growing and cultivating trees. It doesn’t refer to a specific type of tree as some might think. Fun fact – Bonsai was based on the ancient Chinese art form of Penjing where people would create miniature landscapes with trees and rocks.

The Bird and Pet Markets

Close to the flower market, we wandered over to the bird market, which sells (as you may have guessed) porcupines. No, just kidding they sell birds. In Hong Kong, a lot of elderly men get birds as a pet. Our tour guide Danny told us this is because the men have worked so hard all their lives when they retire they have nothing to do, so they get a bird as a pet. Being that Hong Kong is so densely populated birds, and other small animals are popular for pets.

Most of the birds at the Kowloon bird market were smaller birds, but they also had parrots for sale.
There were a lot of little bamboo birdcages at the Kowloon Bird Market, but this was a metal one. I loved this little porcelain food and water dishes in this birdcage.
Bird for sale at a bird market in Kowloon. The high population density in Hong Kong makes small pets, like birds, a popular option.
These birds weren’t for sale. This is where owners will bring their birds to socialize. It’s like a dog park, but for birds.
This was an area that had a lot of pet stores. Aside from birds, fish are popular pets in Hong Kong, but you can find some cats and small dogs too.

More Street Markets

This is the Fa Yuen Street Market in Hong Kong. Our guide told us that this is a local market (compared to the more tourist-driven markets like Temple Street) so bartering won’t bring down the price too much. I looked for a phone case here, but couldn’t find anything to fit my weird off-brand phone.
Shoppers at Kowloon Market.
Jewellery, beads, and decorations at the Fa Yuen Street Market in Kowloon.
Fruit for sale at a local produce market in Kowloon.
We stopped here for an optional egg tart (only $6HK, which is a little over $1CAD). The egg tarts were delicious. They’re not quite as sweet and a little eggier than a Portuguese style egg tart.

Things To Know
I took this tour of Kowloon Markets with Urban Adventures. This tour was free for me because I won a contest on Caroline in the City Travel Blog. I was not asked to write about or review this tour, and as always all opinions are my own.

While in Hong Kong I stayed at the Pearl Premium Guesthouse. This is a great option for budget travellers to Hong Kong, and is only a two-minute walk from Kowloon Park and the MTR (subway). If you can stretch your budget, there are plenty of moderate and high-end luxury hotels in Hong Kong you can book here.

What Hong Kong market would you like to visit?

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2 thoughts on “Exploring Kowloon Markets in Hong Kong”

  1. Ryan Biddulph

    I like that birds can socialize in Hong Kong Alouise 😉 Seriously though, makes sense as they’re social creatures and I’m sure many folks have birdies for companionship in this hectic, bustling place. Neat post!

    Ryan

  2. Alouise

    I thought the bird hangout perches were cool, and definitely needed in the bustling city of Hong Kong. Thanks for the comment Ryan.

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