Advertisement
Opinion | Hong Kong badly needs to freshen up its Suzie Wong mystique. Is Sham Shui Po the answer?
- Sham Shui Po has potential for tourism, like other gritty areas around the world which have become hip neighbourhoods. But it’s still early days for a district more closely associated with cheap gadgets than trendy shops
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Readers of international travel magazines may be surprised to see advertisements touting Sham Shui Po as Hong Kong’s ultimate tourist destination. It’s not a joke; this really is a new initiative by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. But is it a case of forward thinking or mutton dressed as lamb? Could the area seriously be Hong Kong’s answer to London’s Shoreditch or New York’s Brooklyn?
Advertisement
Even native Hongkongers may find little reason to venture into this neighbourhood. I have come across many people who live on the island and still find it challenging to cross the harbour. Even those who make it all the way to this former village usually do so for a specific reason.
Maybe it is pirated software at Golden Computer Arcade, cheap electronic gadgets on Apliu Street, or Tim Ho Wan, the inexpensive, Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant. Garment hobbyists might fancy some haberdashery from fabric stalls on Ki Lung Street or try to match a lost button on Nam Cheong Street. For the rest of us, however, the area is simply notorious for caged homes and bottle-over-the-head muggings at the cash machine.
Sure, in the last couple of years, there have been subtle changes to the neighbourhood. It does feel like it is taking a step towards becoming Hong Kong’s epicentre of cool. But please don’t rush out there yet. Major obstacles still lie ahead of the district.
For a start, Sham Shui Po is still not that tourist-friendly, mainly due to the fact that English is rarely spoken there. Many of the businesses, such as traditional eateries, cater for locals. Their menus may be best described as esoteric.
Advertisement
Advertisement