Yuen Po Street Bird Garden

The bird garden at Yuen Po Street was built in the 1990s in a Chinese garden manner, with moon gates, courtyards and covered walks, to rehouse the bird traders who had worked in a Mong Kok lane for decades. Around seventy stalls sell songbirds, hand-carved wooden and bamboo cages, porcelain feeding dishes and live crickets and grubs sold by the scoop. The other half of the scene is the owners: mainly older men who bring their own birds in covered cages, hang them on the racks under the trees, uncover them and sit while the birds sing, a social habit as much as a hobby. It is a short walk from the flower market.

History

The garden replaced the old "Bird Street" on Hong Lok Street off Argyle Street, which was pulled down by the Land Development Corporation in the early 1990s, its site now occupied by Langham Place. The new garden, on a more peripheral site, was completed in March 1997 (Wikipedia, Yuen Po Street Bird Garden).

The main sights

• Owners airing their songbirds - cages hung on racks under the trees.
• Carved bamboo and wooden cages - the specialist trade in the stalls.
• Live crickets sold by the scoop - bird food traded on the spot.
• Chinese garden courtyards - moon gates and covered walks.

When to go

Year round; mornings are when owners bring birds and the garden is liveliest. One hour. It is quieter in the afternoon.

What to expect

Conditions for the birds in some stalls are poor and visitors uncomfortable with caged wild-caught birds should know that in advance. Photographing owners without asking is resented. The garden is small and the visit is short.

Nearby

The flower market is west; Mong Kok lies south.

Key facts