Stanley Market, Hong Kong

A Victorian building from the 19th century was dismantled to give place to Bank of China tower in 1982, and moved to Stanley, rebuilt with a few changes, and used as barracks to British troops.

Nowadays it is occupied by several restaurants and the Maritime museum

Stanley is a a great place to shop for kids clothes in Hong Kong. I have found Gap, Mini Boden, and Babystyle. There is a great map on Little Steps Hong Kong site that takes you through all the best shopping places for kids clothing in Hong Kong.

I verified that Stanley is listed in VT with its Chinese name: Chek Chue.

Respecting that, I will post my notes about Stanley (market and more) in Chek Chue page

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Stanley is a town on the south side of Hong Kong Island. It is famous for its markets.

The large open-air marketplace is well known for being able to find most things - particularly silk and traditional Chinese dress. There are many toy shops, shops for ornaments and arts and crafts even a Haagen-Dazs and a Dymocks book shop. It is popular with locals and tourists alike.

It is a bit touristy but a perfect place to do your Christmas shopping or the gift for Aunt Mary or the neighbour looking after the dog. Even if you don't buy, the markets are a great place to spend some time and soak up the local scene.

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Stanley is a fishing village on the south of Hong Kong Island. It's about 25 minutes by bus from Central. Stanley is famous for its busy market. The market seems geared towards tourists, here you'll find souvenirs such as antiques, electrical goods & clothes.

After visiting the market I particulary enjoyed walking along the promenade to the seafront. The area was picturesque with plenty of little restaurants.

There is a definite european influence here and it is beautiful! There are many outdoor cafes to take in the incredible view of the islands in the distance and a variety of shops to keep you entertained. This was one of my favorite places in Hong Kong!

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There are 3 beaches in Stanley: one more rocks than beach but with a small strip of sand (immediately adjacent to the temple and the end of the market): the second, the City Beach - a long and popular strip - head off in the opposite direction to the market when getting off the bus - it's a few minutes to the beach: the third, and nicest, is a 10-15 minutes walk towards the headland. St Stephen's Beach is on the way to the fort (not open to the public) and the Military Cemetery (you can see St Stephens from the rocky beach and the restaurants) - a smallish cove with safe bathing and virtually no-one on it. Amazing considering the sardines on the main town beach.

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Although somewhat touristy, Stanley is still a very nice place to get away from the worst excesses of HK and Kowloon. The coastal bus trip is spectacular between Aberdeen and Stanley (keep looking behind you, especially as you climb out of Repulse Bay). Alternatively, you take the #6 bus from Central (station under the IFC).

Perfectly pleasant if somewhat crowded 'arty/crafty' market and a whole row of restaurants overlooking the bay (some more inviting than others.... Stanley attracts the ex-pats at weekends, so some of these places are full of beer-swillers with the bellies and decibels to match). On this strip, there are bars such as The Smugglers Inn, Pizza Express and The Boathouse. The Market whilst touristy is a great place to hand over your wads of shopping dollars - it's certainly there to make it as easy as possible to do so! (And it is a more congenial spot to shop than some of the street makets of Kowloon). But you can still find backstreets which have yet to fall foul of the developers :)

The walk to St Stephen's Beach (20 minutes) is a pleasant and relatively quiet stroll (see separate beach tip) and there are a couple of temples, whilst not exactly over-inspiring are also worth making the effort to see. A newly renovated Maritime Museum in a superb 19th colonial mansion overlooks the small bay, with the top floor devoted to a number of restaurants of various cuisines.