Kowloon Markets & Hong Kong History

The trail starts with a ferry ride across Victoria Harbour, which is a worthwhile activity in its own right.

Look back as well as forward. It might not have the same drama and natural beauty as Sydney Harbour, but for $HK3, it's a great way to appreciate the scale of what has been created on Hong Kong Island. Impressive city views by day or night.

Forget the tourist board cliche of Chinese junks with sails crossing the water. The diesel ferries started to replace them 120 years ago and the rare survivors only emerge for film shoots.

Ferries leave Pier 7 for Tsim Sha Sui (the area at the southern end of the Kowloon peninsula) every few minutes from 6:30am to 11:30pm.

Don't stop here at the start of the trail (you'll be tempted to settle in); save it for a special dinner later.

This stylish place in the One Peking building offers stunning views back across the harbor, but the food is the real spectacle. It specializes in northern Chinese fare, which is spicier than the local Cantonese cuisine. There's no better example than its red lanterns dish: soft shell crab buried in dozens of bell chillies and served in a traditional wooden bowl. Don't be tempted to eat the chillies, they have already done their work on the crab. If the lip-tingling gets too intense, better to get the food in your mouth without touching the peppers than miss the taste sensation.

Hutong is often fully booked so reserve ahead on +852-3428-8342 or online (see link in other resources).

This market can be fun if you treat it as a source of trinkets rather than investments. Some of the 400+ stall holders have been trading here in jade for decades so they are probably better at spotting a bargain than you are.

The general rule seems to be look for cheaper items that you like and haggle for what they are worth to you. High-quality jade pieces sell for thousands of dollars so it's unlikely that a zodiac charm selling for $HK25 is in that domain. Lower-quality jade is usually bleached or colored, which can make it brittle or cause it to fade over time, so it's best to avoid the more intricate higher-priced carvings unless you know your stuff.

The market is open from 10am to 6pm but a lot of traders pack up after lunch. This trail recommends you walk through Kowloon Park to reach the market. It's a much more peaceful route than hectic Nathan Road and the park has diversions such as a Chinese garden or sculpture walk if you're not in a rush.

The area around the Jade Market is Yau Ma Tei and above it you walk into Mong Kok. The shops in different streets or blocks have traditionally specialized in particular products, creating a patchwork of themed shopping areas.

Shanghai Street provides good examples of this as you move north through blocks of herbalists, funeral parlors and bridal outlets, but feel free to explore off path to parallel Reclamation Street for a similar experience. The shops on both vary from designer to down at heel so expect the full range.

The trail leading to the Jade Market is deliberately loopy for the same reason. Visit Nanking Street for your mahjong needs, pick up some votives (paper models of everything from meals to mobile phones you burn to transport to dead relatives) on Ning Po Street or wander along Saigon Street for that tailored suit.

Prepare for some culture shock if your food normally comes from a supermarket. It's "wet" because the fish and other forms of (sometimes unidentifiable) seafood are kept in bowls or tanks of water until you buy. Hong Kong residents are passionate about the freshness of fish. The price will include the killing, cleaning or any other surgical preparation needed for your recipe.

Visitors are unlikely to buy anything, but the spectacle is fantastic (and not too gory). However, if you are staying will locals or self-catering, your options will extend to eels, frogs and various crabs.

You've got to admire the courage of entrepreneurs who would build a five-star hotel in the middle of a working-class district, but the beauty is that you can get a room here for three-star prices (by Hong Kong standards anyway).

This is a great accommodation option if you want all the attractions of this trail at your doorstep. The rooftop pool is welcome relief from Hong Kong humidity and the inclusive breakfast buffet is a gourmet expanse stretching from dragon fruit to bacon and eggs.

Don't confuse it with the sister Langham Hotel farther south on Kowloon--that could be an expensive misunderstanding.

Shop after shop on both sides of this section of Tung Choi Street will sell you anything from a simple goldfish to rare exotic tropical species costing thousands of dollars.

Trade can be brisk so store entries are lined with racks of bagged fish ready to go. They are the perfect pets for high-density living.

Shops are generally open from 10:30am until 10pm.

Unless you are serious about plants, this is not going to match the excitement of the wet market but it's a colorful way to reach the bird market. The street throbs with activity on Sundays and during Chinese New Year.

Open daily from 7am to 8pm.

This is where you come if you're in the market for a parrot or something less exotic in an elegant bamboo cage. Other visitors include past customers taking their birds for a "walk," while picking up a bag of live grasshoppers for the daily feeding.

It's all slightly bizarre, especially when you see owners hang their cages within squawking distance of the market birds as if they had prison visiting rights.

Again, it's great camera fodder. Open daily from 7am to 8pm.

The next attraction on this trail is the Hong Kong Museum of History. You'll be doing a fair bit of walking around its exhibits, so save your feet and take the Mass Transit Railway to get there.

The MTR is the highly efficient, modern and clean train subway system that carries 3 million people a day on eight lines stretching from Hong Kong Island to the mainland border.

Tickets, based on distance traveled, cost as little as $HK4. Signs and ticket machines are in English as well as Chinese.

Hung Hom MTR is just one stop from Mong Kok East (the closest MTR to the bird market) on the East Rail line. Take the D1 exit and head east on Cheong Wan Road. The museum entrance is via the courtyard plaza off Chatham Road South.

There are eight galleries recreating the city's past from prehistoric to post-colonialism. It covers everything from natural to social history, so you may wish to skip to the periods of greatest interest unless you have a whole day to spare.

You walk through replicas of villages and city streets from different eras, and there are excellent audio visual displays in English explaining important milestones such as the opium wars and life under Japanese occupation in WW2.

Recent history includes the British handover and a collection of classic '70s toys Made in Hong Kong.
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Admission $HK10, free Wednesday
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Hours
Daily 10am-6pm (7pm on Sundays; closed Tuesdays)