Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po is one of the poorest districts in Hong Kong and one of the most interesting to walk. Apliu Street is a flea market of electronics laid out on the pavement, secondhand phones, cables, tools, radio parts, meters and things nobody can identify, sold beside shops of the same. Around it the streets specialise: Ki Lung and Yu Chau for fabric, buttons, ribbon and beads sold to the garment trade, Fuk Wing for toys and party goods, Kweilin for food. Computer arcades stack small traders over several floors. Mei Ho House, the last surviving block of a 1950s resettlement estate, has been converted into a hostel with a museum of public housing life.

History

The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb, found here in 1955, shows that Chinese people were settled in the area as early as 2,000 years ago. The name means "deep water pier", for water once deeper than the beach of Cheung Sha Wan, and at the 1911 census Sham Shui Po had 1,577 people; the first town, partly on reclaimed land, was bounded by Yen Chow, Tung Chau, Wong Chuk and Apliu Streets (Wikipedia, Sham Shui Po).

What you'll find

• Apliu Street electronics flea market - components and secondhand goods on the pavement.
• Fabric and button streets - the wholesale trade around Yu Chau Street.
• Mei Ho House - the last 1950s resettlement block, with its housing museum.
• Street food and cha chaan teng - some of the cheapest eating in the city.

When to go

October to April for walking; the markets run from late morning into the evening. Half a day. Weekends are busiest. The fabric streets are quiet on Sundays.

What to expect

It is a poor district and the contrast can be uncomfortable; some visitors treat it as a photo backdrop, which residents resent. Streets are crowded, cluttered and hot. Much of the electronics stock is untested or counterfeit. Some buildings are in poor condition.

Nearby

Mong Kok is east; the Lei Cheng Uk Han tomb lies north.

Key facts