Kowloon Local Customs

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This is one of the many markets that you do not find in the guide books. You have to venture on your own and you'll be surprised to see what the locals do. They browse, choose, bargain and buy exactly what they want or else no deal for them.

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Of course, Hong Kong is overwhelmingly British, but at the same time it exists in large part thanks to the British. It would be foolish to think that there is no physical imprint of Britain's presence here, but the truth is that it is far more noticeable on Hong Kong Island, rather than Kowloon. You can still find, however, remnants of British colonial influence here, particularlyin the forms of architecture. Some of these buildings are Church of England places of worship, which explains why they would be so heavily influenced by British architecture, while others are simply buildings that were erected during the pre-War heyday of British influence. Either way, they make for great examples of the mix between British influence and the Chinese environment.

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As in any other country or territory with a government-regulated economy, there are a few Chinese holidays and festivals that are celebrated officially in Hong Kong. There are also, however, some holidays and festivals that might only be celebrated by devotees of a certain god, or people from a certain region in China. The result is that there are occasionally small fairs set up in different parts of the island that commemorate a specific event or that pay homage to a certain deity. I found one in the Temple Market area, where a makeshift altar had been erected and various people, mainly the elderly, were coming to offer their respects. It's an interesting scene to witness, and one that enriches your understanding of HK and Chinese culture. It might be better, however, to actually ask someone what's going on and to understand exactly what the festival is, rather than take pictures blindly, as I did.

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Kowloon has some spectacular apartment and commercial buildings, but the city also plays host to some of the area that showcase how HK managed to rise and maintain its prestige as a business and manufacturing centre. Thousands upon thousands of people migrated to HK every year during the second half of the last century, many looking to work in low-paying jobs that promised better fortune than what was available in Mainland China. They often had to live in cramped quarters in poorer parts of the city, contrasting with the glamour of Hong Kong Island and the city's business elite. In Kowloon, you can still see the effects of the population boom as you go through areas of the city away from the waterfront, including the area around Temple Market. The run-down apartment blocks and the grimy streets showcase how the city was able to grow so rapidly and experience such aggregate success without high costs and labour shortages slowing economic development.

If you don't look too closely, the scaffolding you see in Hong Kong may look identical to what you see back home (I'm assuming you live somewhere where you have metal rods bolted together!).

If you do look closely however you'll see it is pieces of Bamboo that are just tied together. In Hong Kong they like to build tall, and this scaffolding just goes up all the way. I must have seen it going up 20 stories at least. I guess they have to build quick or else it rots, so perhaps its an incentive to get the construction workers to work faster!

The Chinese enjoy betting and from early morning till the late hours of night you could see various places in the streets where betting is taking place.....i was amazed in one instance as the photo shows how this guy trained a bird to find the Joker by coming out of the cage and turning the card where the Joker was with his beak!!

it's the most popular temple for both tourists and locals residents as it serves three religions: Buddhism, Taosim and Confucianism. Taoist god has eraned a great reputation for his pwers of predicting the future and hundreds of fortune tellers rent stalled just outside the temple. It's one of the scene that you can't miss out!
Besides fortune telling, it is also a great place to see traditional Chinese temple architecture, with its amazing techniques and colourful carvings.
Admission if free, but you can give some donation at the entrance if you want.
Also, you dun have to bring lots of things if you wanna do some worship-like thing, some stalls outside sell those stuff like "hell Bank" money, just bring along $ and you will have what you want !
One more thing, please beware of pick pocket when lots of people doing the worshipping activities.

The architecture is oriental and typically have large roofs slanting on four sides and you have a large open plan hall inside the structure.