Hong Kong is one of the biggest shopping cities in the world, and this despite the fact that it competes with the whole of South-East Asia, which many perceive as one great and wonderful market. Having arrived to Hong Kong you plunge into a shopping realm. Here you will find boutiques and shops, falling almost at every step, street markets and shopping malls in popular tourist areas. Whatever you were looking for - novelties of Western fashion, electronic goods, glasses, jewelry or fake goods, you will find what you want. You can haggle or get a discount at almost all shops, street markets or shopping malls. Below are the categories of the goods that are especially popular among residents and visitors of Hong Kong.
Clothing
Being one of the most fashionable cities in Asia, clothing is probably one of the best buys in Hong Kong. You will be amazed by quantity and variety of clothing. Thousands of shops offer imported labels as well as the works of local designers. You will find here the world famous brands, such as Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Prada, Armani, Christian Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Esprit, Lacoste, or brands of local designers, or cheap clothing. The choice depends on your budget and time.
If you are looking for the world famous brands and your budget allows such expenses, then you can find them at the Harbour City, located in Tsim Sha Tsui, it is one of the biggest shopping complexes in Hong Kong with over 700 shops; the Pacific Place in Admiralty; the Landmark in Central or Times Square in Causeway Bay. If you want to buy Japanese style clothing, then visit SOGO in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui.
The department stores above, and other shopping malls and shops, including flagship stores, are also sell clothing for the middle class. It includes popular inexpensive brands, such Uniqlo, H&M, Hermes, and popular local brands.
If you are looking for cheap clothing, then visit the Lady's Market and Fa Yuen Street in Mongkok, the Temple Street Night Market in Yau Ma Tei or Jardine's Crescent in Causeway Bay. Also cheap clothing can be found in other markets or hundreds of shops throughout the city.
Jewelry
Hong Kong has a huge selection of jewelry stores, where you can buy diamonds, gold jewelry, jade, pearls. It is easy to find jewelry stores in Hong Kong, but too difficult to choose what to buy, when you see a wide variety of modern and traditional gold jewelries and gems at duty-free prices, which have no equal. A lot of jewelry stores are situated in Kowloon on Nathan Road, leading from Mongkok to Tsim Sha Tsui. In Hong Kong Island you can find jewelry stores on Hennessey Road in Causeway Bay, Des Voeux Road Central and Queen's Road Central in Central. Also, the majority of shopping malls, such as the Harbour City, Times Square, the Pacific Place, have one or several jewelry shops. Every piece of gold jewelry, both imported and locally made, should be labeled with a small stamp confirming the purity of the metal.
The most popular gemstone among residents of Hong Kong is jade. This green stone, in all its many hues and colors, is associated with long life and good health. It protects wearers against illness and ward off bad luck. Grandmothers commonly buy a jade for newborns. There is the Jade Market in Yau Ma Tei, which is very popular for both visitors and Hong Kong residents. A large number of stalls offer a wide variety of jade rings, amulets, bracelets, earrings, small figurines, carvings and ornaments. High quality jade is emerald green and very expensive, and sells in jewelry stores. If you are seriously interested in buying of high quality jade it is highly recommended to buy this gemstone with specialist who will help you evaluate its quality.
Electronic Goods
If you are interested in electronic goods, such as mobile phones, TVs, mp3 and DVD players, digital cameras, computer accessories, notebooks, photo accessories or any other electronic product, then Hong Kong is a right place. In computer stores and shopping malls you can find the popular brands, such as Sony, Apple, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Nikon, Canon, Dell. Also, the proximity to the mainland China allows Hong Kong to offer a wide selection of cheap electronic goods of Chinese manufactures. Given the fact that imported goods are not taxed in Hong Kong, and sometimes they also come with discounts - all this makes the purchase of electronic goods very competitive and allow you a nice save on purchases.
However, before you buy any item of electronics goods, be sure to specify what voltage, TV standard, warranty operate in your country. You can buy TV or video accessories both PAL and NTSC standard, and voltage of TVs, players or chargers of mobile phones, notebooks, etc can be 110v or 220v. Also, it is important to check the prices at home before coming to Hong Kong to be sure that what you want to buy here is really cheaper.
There are many places in Hong Kong where you can buy electronic goods. Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok, Sham Shui Po and Causeway Bay are only several popular areas for electronic goods. Situated on Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mongkok, parallel to the Ladies Market, the Electronics Market is full of computer stores which sell everything such as mp3 players, PCs, notebooks, digital cameras, etc. Another popular place is Tsim Sha Tsui with many shops along Nathan Road and surrounding streets, to malls, and to dedicated electronics shopping centers. If you want to buy anything specific then you may visit the Golden Computer Centre in Sham Shui Po.
The price can vary from store to store and it is good to check the price in different stores before you buy any electronic goods. Be sure that you got a bill and a warranty, and the bill had the prices of all items. The warranty from reputable manufacturers will provide you the highest quality work. Skip the shops with no company name which do not have price tags on their goods.