Mongkok Pedestrian Street

Mongkok is where you can get all your shopping done! The product ranges from all different types of items whether real or fake. You can get anything from board games to electronics to clothing. Definitely have to bargain or you will get ripped off. I was trying to purchase a fake Michael Kors cell phone case that looked like the real deal! They tried to charge me 85rmb, my friend lowered the price by bargaining with the salesman! I ended up only paying 40rmb! What a steal!

Mongkok Pedestrian Street is the reason why we can never have the ideal, perfect scenario.
It was great. It was the time where you’d think Mongkok would become Hong Kong’s Akihabara. Various artists were here to perform, be them jugglers, guitarists, painters, or whatnot. Hong Kong is not particularly rich in culture or art, and the Pedestrian Street once provided the perfect venue for these artists.
Well. Remember Hong Kong is the city with the most economic freedom for like, 17 years in a row? We are the world leading example of capitalism. This is how things changed.
First, it was «FM Theatre Power», an indie drama group, that abused the public space for its so-​called dramas, which consisted mostly with yelling and shouting. They often blocked a whole portion of the street, together with curious passerby, it was about annoyance than anything.
Then, it’s the internet service providers and mobile phone service providers. They were here to sell their stuff, taking advantage of the massive current of pedestrians. They often have their own exclusive «territories», where others cannot use their «reserved» space, as if they have paid for it. Well, they might have paid to someone other than the government but we’d never know.
And recent years we got the «professional» artists. They bring their own PA system, 4-​piece amplifiers, etc. Some portrait themselves as artists and sell art and craft products, but if you look closely, they are just common products, and they are essentially having a pop up store here without needing to pay any rent.
That’s how government decided that whatever happening in Mongkok Pedestrian Street causes more disturbance to the neighborhood than anything else, and cut down the «opening» time.
It’s a bit of a shame, really.

If you really wanted to understand Hong Kong’s youth today, know a bit more about where they hang out and what they do– you cannot miss this one. The pedestrian area at Sai Yeung Choi Street South is at the center of what we locals call «MK” — short form for Mongkok. The street itself is a shopping street lined with shops as far as the eye could see, with the majority of the shops either selling electronics or cosmetics (a modern phenomena with so many Mainland tourists coming here and shopping for these things).
the remarkable thing about this street is not the shops itself; most of them could be found elsewhere in Hong Kong anyways. its what happens when they close off the street to traffic that is quite intriguing. To understand this you must also know that Hong Kong is not a place for street performance, its basically banned and anywhere else you would be treated like a beggar. They seemed to have made an exception with this place though. You have bands, performers, singers, magicians, pressure groups– any and everything under the sun would come here, pick a spot and do their thing. It is quite interesting to see all this talent in Hong Kong as we are hardly known as a place for being artistic or otherwise.
This may now be restricted somewhat as the pedestrian area times have been cut following complaints from the local community and that a lot of the performers have been said to be a nuisance. I guess it would be annoying to live somewhere where people just keep singing non-​stop on the street downstairs, or the weird dances that some of the performers lay on. In all though, it really is a showcase of things that people are bringing to unknown talents out to the public and I think its something to support.