Welcome back to Walking Tour Wednesday! This week's tour takes you to a popular tourist stop that retains a lot of old-fashioned charm. Cat Street is known for its eclectic collection of antique shops and souvenir stalls.
Start out at the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road.
Directly across the street from the temple you can see the top of Ladder Street.
Walk down the Ladder Street steps.
You'll see a street to your left.
Turn into Upper Lascar Row, also known as Cat Street.
You'll find stalls selling a motley collection of Chinese knick-knacks.
Some of the shops are closed on Sundays...
...but many will be open for business.
Along this street...
The shops sell antiques...
...and artwork of all kinds.
You'll see plenty of mass-produced souvenirs outside the shops.
Make your way along the street...
...and see what treasures you can find.
There are smaller lanes with more shops branching off from the main street.
There are scrolls hanging everywhere.
Pick out some little gifts for your family...
...or consider an investment-size piece for your living room...
...or buy something scary for your front door.
I like the lights...
...and the colors of this street.
Keep walking past the many antique shops...
...and market stalls.
Consider a detour to the right, toward Queen's Road West...
... or to the left, towards Hollywood Road.
You're nearing the end of the street.
You can stop for a bowl of noodles and a pot of tea...
...or walk on past one of the last shops on the left.
The wares become less decorative and more functional...
...and you can see the evidence of their creation by the street.
The doors are ordinary now.
And there's one last curio shop on your right.
You've reached the western end of Upper Lascar Row.
Turn left and walk up the steps.
Before you know it...
You'll find yourself back on Hollywood Road.
I hope you enjoyed this Cat Street tour. Come back next week for pictures of a day at the races!
Wow, Cat Street has really embraced Mao! Back in the early 90s, this area (namely the dusty junk/antique shops on Hollywood road) was the only place besides Rennie's Mill where you could hear Mandarin. Those shops sold little Mao busts and some Mao pins, but from your photos, there's so much more now.
ReplyDeleteI do love those lights you showed. Those look very cool.
That's really interesting Susan. There's lots of Mao stuff at the Temple Street night market too. HK is really catering to Mainland tourists these days, so we hear plenty of Mandarin.
ReplyDeleteBack in my day, Temple Street didn't have Mao stuff. I didn't even go there for jade because everyone said the quality was poor and it was just for uninformed tourists. There were some Cantonese opera performances there at night, just behind the market, so I went with my ex to see those sometimes. Anyway, just a few days ago we had Thanksgiving and my mom's friend came over wearing a beautiful jade bead strung with a very delicate gold chain. I commented on how beautiful the jade was--and she replied she bought it at the Temple Street market! What did I know?!
ReplyDeleteIt was quite challenging to learn Mandarin in HK back then. Now I'm sure it's ideal!