Cat Street Market

Upper Lascar Row, known as Cat Street, is a short pedestrian lane below Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan where stalls and small shops sell curios: Mao badges and old posters, jade and imitation jade, coins, watches, carved seals, opium-era paraphernalia and a great deal of convincing reproduction. The name is said to come from the trade in goods of doubtful origin, with the buyers called rats and the dealers cats. Genuine antiques are mostly in the shops on Hollywood Road above, which is the serious end of the trade; the street itself is a place to browse, haggle and buy small things without expecting authenticity.

What you actually see

• Stalls of curios and badges - posters, coins, seals and bric-a-brac.
• Reproduction alongside the real - the character of the street's stock.
• Hollywood Road dealers above - the serious antique trade one street up.
• The stepped lanes around it - the old Sheung Wan street pattern.

When to go

Year round, from mid-morning to late afternoon; many stalls close early and some do not open on Sundays. One hour. Combine with Man Mo Temple and Tai Kwun.

Honest expectations

Most of what is sold is reproduction, and buying anything as a genuine antique here is unwise. Prices are quoted high for visitors. The lane is very short. Real antiquities may carry export restrictions.

Nearby

Man Mo Temple is above; PMQ and Tai Kwun lie east.