GROUP PHOTO

Geography of Sham Shui Po

Hi this is Philip and I am going to show you how interesting the Geography of Sham Shui Po is.

Sham Shui Po, which lies on the (relatively) flat land in Kowloon, is one the most run-down area and the poorest area in Hong Kong in terms of income of residents. But the whole Sham Shui Po is too large for knowing more in-depth. So, my area of investigation was somewhere near the exits of Sham Shui Po MTR Station. To be more precise, it is the area encompassed by Apliu Street, Yen Chow Street, Fuk Wing Street and Nam Cheong Street – with Cheung Sha Wan Road being the artery, intersects the area. Being a highly accessible area with ready service of public transport, such as buses and MTR, Sham Shui Po should be an area with unlimited potentials.

This area is mainly covered by low-rise residential/commercial buildings of mixed land use, i.e. buildings with the lower storeys being in commercial use, with upper storeys residential flats. Although Sham Shui Po is relatively the poorest, it is also one of the busiest areas in Hong Kong in terms of small business (i.e. not run by large corporations). 

In these photos you can see there are stalls on the sides of Apliu Street, with the products sold are mainly electrical ones (especially the low-end ones), such as wires, bulbs and small appliances. You can never find brand-named electrical appliances and gadgets, for instance mobile phones and computers.

When we switch the focus to Fuk Wing and Fuk Wa Streets, you may feel that there are not much difference, but if you look better in it, I can say you are wrong. In Fuk Wa Street, the buildings are slightly taller – with the stalls on the sides of the road selling more domestic products such as clothes and kitchen utensils. Completely different, man! 

And in Fuk Wing Street, you can see buildings that are even taller – but no more stalls. Instead, a more complex commercial area is spotted. You can see the Golden Computer Centre (高登; “Golden” in Cantonese transliteration) and Golden Computer Arcade (黃金; English translation for “Golden”).

With more varieties of business being seen, Sham Shui Po is an area with more possibilities in the future that may one day become the wealthiest district in Hong Kong.

People Watching

Hello! This is Derek Mattingly with the insight on the people of Sham Shui Po. My role is to provide you with information on the people of Sham Shui Po as well as some travel tips to keep you ahead of the market game.
 

 

Sham Shui Po is packed full of people, especially on the weekends.  This area is famous for its cheap electronics’ devices, so people are literally knocking down other customers in their way to get the best deals.  There is a wide variety of customers that frequent this neighborhood in Hong Kong.  Most notably, younger generations are looking for the next big item hot on the market.  Video game stores within the Golden Computer Centre are crowded with young people lining up to try new games, and in some stores it is near impossible to even make your way through to see all the items.  We were even lucky enough to witness two middle aged mothers fighting over who was the first to grab a game that was on sale.  I also bought an extra battery charger for my phone which was $90 that also came with a receipt for reassurance.
 

If you want a less crowded, but riskier approach to buying cheap electronics, then you can head to the men’s market on Ap Liu Street.  There is also a wide variety of people here as well, but a noticeably larger portion of foreigners.  Market shopping is one of the main attractions to foreigners because these markets are very famous and posted in almost every tourist book or website.  People from all over the world are here; Europe, Africa, Middle East and North America. Everyone is trying to haggle down prices with the locals running the market stands.  I interacted with one of them selling some “Beats by Dre” headphones to get a feel for the process. The lady started the price at $250 which seemed like a “high well rounded gwei-lo price.” Anakin, my local translator, then noticed that she was trying to rip me off and then stepped in to help with the conversation.  She responded much better to him, knowing that he was a local and brought the price down to $175.  However, I didn’t really want the headphones, so we walked away.  She actually chased us and offered $150, but like I said I didn’t want the headphones.

 

Overall, the people of SSP are generally in “business mode” usually trying to buy something for a good price.  It’s very crowded but that’s Hong Kong.  I would say the people are more aggressive for sure because they are only there for certain things.  People will mow you down and fight for some items if they want them bad enough.  Also be careful with the people selling to you at the market. It is highly recommended to have a local friend that speaks Cantonese with you in case you are a foreigner.

The one for the gluttons! Sham Shui Po's food highlights~

Hurray~This is Anakin the glutton, I'd like to share the best dinner recommendation to you all~

My first dinning recommendation is the Piggy Grill, which is located at no.17 of Shun Ling road in Sham Shui Po. This restaurant is famous for its Hong Kong local style barbecued food.

The first highlight would be the roast piglet with sweet sauce. Thinking that the fresh made the roast piglet is unforgettably crispy and hot, but not very oily as you imagined, you probably could not resist !

And other one that I appreciate so much is the roast eggplant with garlic. It is cut into two half sides and pave with fried garlic. Though it is done by roasting, it won’t be too dry or stiff. On the contrary, its texture is impressively soft and juicy !

The second dinning recommendation is the Kam Ho pork and beef hotpot. Its cuisines are mainly in so called the “refuge harbour style”, which actually refers to the traditional cooking method of those TanKa people.

 The best one of this restaurant is the “fried spicy mantis shrimp”. It is cooked with many condiments such as fried garlic, red chills, crude salt, pepper, etc. It is very “exciting” to eat the cuisine as you will think extremely hot but addictive. However, it is not very easy for the “amateur” to have it for the first time as the shell of the mantis shrimp is quite hard and with some jags.

 

Precious Objects Found in Sham Shui Po

Hi all! I am Bonnie Chan. I am the collector. My role is to introduce precious objects that can be found and treasured in Sham Shui Po. I am going to introduce two different precious objects to you which can be bought in Sham Shui Po.

The precious objects that can be found and treasured are the antique cameras.

There is a stall on Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po purchasing and selling antique items and cameras are the main products this shop purchase and sell.

Apliu Street



People can sell their antique cameras to this shop and the shopkeeper will evaluate the price of this camera and purchase from those people. After purchasing, the shopkeeper will sell these antique cameras to others who want to buy. As it is an outdoor stall, people will think the shop is approachable and selling cheap antique cameras. Therefore, the shop can attract different kinds of people to see and try the cameras.

Antique cameras are precious because there are only very few left and they have a long history that can be good testimonies of the development of cameras and technology. They are the collective memories of many Hong Kong people who love photograph as they used these types of camera to take many beautiful photos in the past. All the antique cameras are made by hand which could not be mass-produced. The materials used are exquisite so that many of them can still be used nowadays. Also, the antique cameras are special because the photos taken by different camera lens produced in different eras or by different factories had different effects. These cameras have high reference value for today’s cameras production and they are still of great worth.

Another precious objects found in Sham Shui Po are the bronze Buddhist figures.

The stall selling these figures is also on Apliu Street which is just beside the stall selling antique cameras. This street mainly sells products that are uncommon. However, if people are interested in them, they will think the items here are valuable.

Bronze Buddhist figures are precious because each figure symbolizes different meanings and people think having these items can bring them luck in specific aspect. In addition, different parts of these figures are carefully made. They can be used as decorations for offices or homes.

For example, people place a figure called “Wen Chang Tower” on their study or working desks. 

Wen Chang Tower

They are the Buddhist pagodas mainly with seven or nine storeys. Storeys signify how high position you can achieve. The taller the storeys, the higher the position you are. They are commonly used for improving ones’ wisdom. For students, “Wen Chang Towers” are placed to improve their studies or academic achievements. For adults, they are placed to help them attain more power for their jobs. Therefore, all these Buddhist figures are being treasured because of their special functions.

Actually, Sham Shui Po has many different special objects. If you have time, go to Sham Shui Po and see if you can buy any precious objects.

History of Sham Shui Po

Hello everyone, I m Ellen. I am the historian and I am going to bring you all to experience a special journey about the past of Sham Shui Po.

The place “Sham Shui Po” always evokes cheap electronics in people mind. But the abundance of the old buildings suggest that its history goes a little further back than electronics parts. The area has been an industrial, commercial, and residential hub since 1920s.

Before 1912, Hong Kong government did not have any plan for the development of this area. The main transport there is the Tai Po Road. There is only some small scale reclamation from private sector along the Nam Cheong Street and Kwei Lin Street.

 

Since 1912, the Government started a large scale reclamation plan in this district. It levels off the Sai Kok Hill to cover Kwei Lin Street to Tokyo Street and made a ground of 9.67 hectare. Another plan started from 1919, the project extended from Tokyo Street to Lai Chi Kok. It took 10 years to complete this project. When the construction is completed,
 

 



Sham Shui Po Police Station and Barracks on Lai Chi Kok Road in 1926.

 

The area on the west of Yen Chau Street was taken over by British Military to be a barrack.  Around 1930, it changed into an industrial region.

The Pacific War began in December 1941 and the Japanese army was able to occupy Hong Kong in less than 20 days after which the Sham Shui Po Camp became a concentration camp. For lack of food and a clean environment, beriberi and dysentery became prevalent in the camp and many inmates died from the lack of proper treatment.

After the war, many immigrants from the Mainland China entered Hong Kong. The number of Sham Shui Po residents dramatically increased, giving rise to serious squatter problem.



 

View of Pei Ho Street from Ki Lung Street in 1960

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Market on Shum Ning Road, Sham Shui PO in 1962

 

In the 1960s, the industries in the district developed rapidly. All kinds of public housing estates and private buildings were built in succession.



In 1975, this shows Pak Tin Estate shortly after it was built. Nam Cheong Street in the centre. Empty plots of land on the right later housed many schools and old aged homes.

 

In the  early 1980s, the population of Sham Shui Po reached nearly 500,000 and is currently the most densely populated area in Hong Kong. Its just like the Hong Kong nowadays.