Temple Street Night Market

Hong Kong's most famous night market, in Yau Ma Tei. Dim sum, hot pot, fortune-tellers, knock-off goods.

Temple Street Night Market is the most persistent of Hong Kong's outdoor markets — a street-level commercial and social institution that operates each evening in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, running approximately 600 metres from Jordan Road south to Man Ming Lane. The name refers to the Tin Hau Temple complex at the midpoint of the street, around which the market originally organised itself when it began in the late 19th century as a gathering place for working-class men to eat, socialise, and transact the informal commercial activity that characterised the neighbourhood.

The market divides naturally into two sections with different characters. The southern stretch, from Jordan Road toward the temple, is the shopping zone: stalls packed tightly with souvenirs, watches, mobile phone accessories, clothing, toys, and the category of goods whose provenance is best not examined too closely. Bargaining is standard; the opening prices are set with negotiation expected. The northern stretch, from the temple toward Man Ming Lane, tilts toward food and entertainment: open-fronted restaurants and dai pai dong (outdoor food stalls) serving Cantonese seafood, clay pot rice, and hot pot; portable stages where retired opera singers perform Cantonese opera for appreciative regulars; and small tents occupied by fortune-tellers of various specialisations.

The market begins setting up around 5pm and reaches its peak energy between 8pm and 10pm; it winds down considerably after 11pm. The street is busiest in the area around the Tin Hau Temple, where the food and entertainment clusters overlap. The adjacent Jade Market — operating during the day a few blocks north — and the Tin Hau Temple itself make Yau Ma Tei a coherent evening destination for an unhurried couple of hours.