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The small but pretty Bird Garden is where local folk, mostly elderly, take their birds to sing and get some fresh air. There’s also a small bird market here selling sparrows, finches and songbirds in elegant little cages. Fresh bird food, in the form of live grasshoppers, is fed to the birds through the cage bars with chopsticks.

Near the Bird Garden is a vibrant flower market, at its best and brightest in the morning. The stalls and shops lining the entire length of Flower Market Road sell a wide variety of exotic flowers – a wonderfully colourful sight and a good place to take photographs. The busy market is especially exciting to visit during the Chinese New Year.

The Tin Hau temple in Yau Ma Tei is divided into three sections. Only one of these is actually devoted to Tin Hau, the sea goddess who is Hong Kong’s favourite deity and essentially its patron. Admittedly, it is neither the oldest nor grandest temple in the territory, but pretty nonetheless. The other two sections are dedicated to Shing Wong, the god of the city and To Tei, the god of the earth. Officially no photography is allowed inside the temple. English-speaking visitors should head for a couple of stalls at the far end of the temple, where they can have their fortunes told in English.

Quiet lane near Yau Ma Tei’s Tin Hau Temple

Visit the chaotic, crowded night market on Temple Street as much for the spectacle as for the shopping (see Temple Street Night Market).

The small, covered Jade Market is worth a quick forage even if you’re not intending to buy any jade. Dozens of stalls sell jewellery, small animals (many representing characters from the Chinese zodiac) and beads in jade. There will be few bargains on sale, particularly to those without a knowledge of good jade, but there’s plenty of cheap jade here if you just want to own some trinkets.

The term “ladies” is somewhat out of date, as there’s plenty more than women’s clothing here. The shopping area consists of three parallel streets: Fa Yuen Street, crammed mostly with sports goods and trainer shops; Tung Choi Street (the former ladies market); and Sa Yeung Choi Street, specializing in consumer electronics. Market stall prices are cheap, and shop prices are better than those on Hong Kong Island. The crowds can be tiring, though, especially on hot days.

Currently a pedestrian no-go area, the reclaimed land of West Kowloon is a jumble of road intersections and messy building sites. It will also be the site of what is projected to be the world’s tallest building, assuming it goes ahead (see Modern Buildings). The 480-m (1,575-ft) high Kowloon Station Tower is due for completion in 2006 or 2007 and will cost an estimated HK$20 billion (US$2.56 billion).

History is visible in the ruler-straight line of Boundary Street, which marked the border between British Hong Kong and China between 1860 and 1898. The lower part of the Kowloon Peninsula was ceded (supposedly in perpetuity) by China to the British, who wanted extra land for army training and commerce. The British then became worried over water shortages and wanted yet more land to protect Hong Kong Island from the threat of bombardment from newly invented long-range artillery. In 1898 the border was moved again to include the entire New Territories, this time on a 99-year lease (see 1898: The 99-Year Lease).

The whole area around Shanghai and Reclamation streets is a traditional Chinese neighbourhood, if somewhat less vibrant and seedier than it was a few years ago. Interesting nooks and shops include funeral parlours, herbalists, health tea shops, paper kite shops and, at 21 Ning Po Street, a shop selling pickled snakes.

Kitchen utensils shop, Shanghai Street

If you haven’t seen a Hong Kong produce market in full swing, you could do worse than wander down Reclamation Street. This predominantly fruit and vegetable market will provide some good photo opportunities. The squeamish, however, may want to avoid wandering inside the municipal wet market building where livestock is freshly slaughtered and expertly eviscerated on the spot.