Mong Kok
Mong kok is notoriously known as the heartland of triad gangs. In the era that Hong Kong was part of the British Empire, the gweilos (foreign devils) rarely dared to venture here. Even today the area is home to triads, illegal gambling dens and sleaze but don’t let this put you off visiting Mong kok since tourists are unlikely to be a target.Mong Kok is an area in Yau Tsim Mong District, on the Kowloon peninsula, in Hong Kong. 
The name in Chinese means “flourishing/busy corner”, but that belies its really meaning devrived from the number of shops in the area. Recent road works revealed some potteries as old as Jin Dynasty (265-420), indicating that there might be settlements that early.
Attractive Streets & Markets
The district is characterised by a mixture of old and new multi-story buildings, with shops and restaurants at street level and commercial or residential units above. Major industries in Mong Kok are retail, restaurants (including fast food) and entertainment.
Mong Kok preserves its traditional characteristics with an array of markets, small shops, and food stalls that have already disappeared from other areas in Hong Kong over the past several decades of economic developments. As such, a few of these streets in Mong Kok have acquired interesting nicknames reflecting their own characteristics. Some interesting sites are:
Ladies’ Street ( Ladies’ Market on Tung Choi Street) – This market specializes in women’s clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and the like. It is open daily from noon to 10:30 p.m. at Tung Choi Street on the east of Nathan Road. Typically, where there is a market, there are also food stalls selling noodles, seafood, and congee for mid-afternoon or late-night snacks. A grocery market is also located in the vicinity, quite convenient for housewives to buy fresh vegetables and pantyhose on the same trip.
Sai Yeung Choi South Street – A street full of electronics goods store, comestics shop and discount book shops located on the upper floors of a building.
Temple Street (sometimes referred to as Men’s Street), extending into Jordan, is also in the area, however, the area famous for the hong kong specific goods are only in the section between Yaumatei and Jordan.
Bird Garden – Hundreds of songbirds in exquisitely crafted cages can be seen at this market, which is on the other side of Nathan Road on Yuen Po Street. The garden is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is close to Mong Kok KCR station and Mong Kok stadium. Packed with booths selling birds, Hong Lok Street (Bird Street) was closed as part of an urban renewal project in June 1998. The Garden was constructed by the government to accommodate some of the booths.
Sport Shoes Street – This is a small neighbourhood with many small retailers which sell sports equipment and clothing. It has a wide diversity of sports shoes. Many shoes of rare or special editions from different places are available here.
Flower Market – This is a street market near the KCR train station with lots of flower shops and street hawkers showing colourful displays, the sweet scents and the exotic blossoms of many fortune-bringing houseplants.
Goldfish Market – There are dozens shops and hawkers selling various tropical freshwater or marine fish near the KCR train station. Different types of aquarium equipments can also be found there. This market opens very early in the morning.
Tile Street – This is a section of Portland Street near Argyle Street and Butt Street with more than 50 retailers selling materials for construction or renovation, such as tiles, wall paper, window frames and bath tubs.
Photocopy Street – This small neighbourhood near Ho Man Tin is noted in the area because there are quite a few schools in the vicinity, and the students in these schools have a strong demand for photocopying — remarkably the shops there are famous for photocopying copyrighted books in mass quantities.
Tickets:Free
Bus Route : 1 1A 2A 2C 3C 7 8 9 10 13D 13P 16 18 24 27 41 45 70 72X 81C 81P 81S 87D 95 98C 98S 103 104 203 203E 208 270A 271 280P 281A 296C 887 N216 N271 N281 N293
