A stroll around the streets south of Cheung Sha Wan Road, in Sham Shui Po, where shophouses from the 1920s and 30s survive in significant numbers, offers a glimpse into early-20th-century Hong Kong.
The area is best known for the Apliu ('duck coop') Street market, where shoppers can pick up cheap electronic gadgets of all shapes and sizes - and the occasional illegal satellite television decoder. The government has tried to brand the market as Hong Kong's answer to Tokyo's neon-pulsing Akihabara, but Apliu Street is much more down to earth.
However, there's more to the area than cheap - and possibly stolen - electronic goods. Small-scale factories once thrived in Sham Shui Po ('deep water pier'), benefiting from what used to be a dock at the junction of Pei Ho and Tung Chau streets. Many churned out beads, lace and thread, and these goods are still easy to find in the area: beads on Yu Chau Street, buttons on Ki Lung Street and zips and ribbon on Nam Cheong Street.
At J&J Imitation Jewellery (215 Yu Chau Street, tel: 2491 2323), you'll find a huge range of 60s-style beads. At J&J and similar stores, HK$100 will buy a big bag of baubles: marble-sized beads, plastic bangles and butterfly-shaped stickers.
Around the corner, on Pei Ho Street, there's a substantial street market selling clothing, shoes and assorted trinkets. One stall sells HK$15 shirts and HK$20 basketball shorts. The next stall stocks everything you'd need for personal grooming, cutting and sewing: scissors, nail clippers, razor blades, nail scissors, thread and needle spools.
Duck into any of the open stairwells and you'll see the thin steel letterboxes, covered in dust and rust, that inspired local designer Douglas Young to create a whole line of Hong Kong-abilia at his GOD lifestyle store.
And if you look up, you'll probably spot Hong Kong's capsule hotels. The nine-floor walkup at 124 Pei Ho Street, for example, has a sign above the entranceway advertising sleeping space for HK$78 per night. However, these tiny warrens of divided rooms are light years away from their clean and streamlined Japanese counterparts.
Sham Shui Po is the most densely populated of Hong Kong's 18 destricts, and has more than 424,000 residents.
Around Apliu Street
1 Plague basher
The temple on Yu Chau Street is the only one in Hong Kong dedicated to Nah Jah, or Sam Tai Tsz ('the third prince'). In 1894, a plague swept through the district and Hakka residents suggested bringing a statue of Nah Jah, the third son of the great general Li Jing, from Guangdong to Sham Shui Po, since he was famed for overcoming demons. The plague died out shortly after the statue arrived and grateful residents built the temple in 1898.
2 Serpents tale
Shea Wong Sin (50 Kweilin Street, tel: 2386 1593) is typical of the many snake-soup restaurants in this part of Hong Kong: it only stocks serpents from September through to May, since they're most prized in winter, for their warmth-giving qualities. A portion costs from HK$31 for a small bowl to HK$58 for a tureen. The rest of the year the shop sells fruit.
3 A river runs through it
Nam Cheong Street carves through Sham Shui Po and used to be an open nullah, or canal, designed to allow overflow from the rivers and streams in the hills of Shek Kip Mei to run to the sea. It's now covered over, but the great width of the street demonstrates what lies beneath the cement.
Average house price HK$1.5 million for a 400 sq ft flat in a building older than 30 years
Average rent HK$4,000 for a 400 sq ft flat
Nearest shops Area is filled with street stalls and stores
Nearest ATM Jetco and ICBC on Nam Cheong Street; Citic on Yu Chau Street
Nearest MTR Around the corner, a two-minute walk
Nearest restaurants Noodle shops are plentiful, although the area is best known for snake-soup restaurants
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