new year flower markets

One interesting feature of Chinese New Year in Hong Kong is the flower markets that operate during the run-up to the festival itself. I don’t make a point of checking them out every year—we don’t buy flowers—but for a one-time visitor to Hong Kong, they are a must-see attraction.

Of course, if you’ve seen one then you’ve seen them all, so we took cousin Dave to the temporary flower market in Mong Kok, which is the largest in Kowloon. There is a larger one on the island* (Victoria Park), but it is also further to travel from Fanling, and you aren’t going to see anything that is radically different.

The main market in Mong Kok is located on what for the rest of the year is a large sports ground, but the streets leading there are also full of temporary stalls selling flowers–and of people who are on their way home with their purchases:

I took the next two photos from an elevated walkway:

The remainder of the photos were taken in the sports ground/market area:

Cut flowers such as gladioli are popular at this time of year, but so are bulbs in plastic or ceramic bowls. The previous photos illustrate this—the flowers are narcissi. I don’t know what the pink/purple flowers in the background are, but they may be orchids.

Another popular purchase at this time of year is small citrus (tangerine, kumquat) bushes. They symbolize prosperity, as you might guess from the superficial resemblance of the fruits to balls of gold:

If you look closely at the next two photos, you will notice that the first was taken from below the red sign just right of centre, looking towards the camera position in the second photo:

One thing that I didn’t see during my tour of the flower market, which is nevertheless extremely popular, is pots of chrysanthemums, so I’ve included the following photo, taken in the village where I live, to conclude my report on the Chinese New Year flower markets of Hong Kong:

* ‘the island’ is Hongkie-speak for Hong Kong island. Cf. ‘Hong Kong side’; ‘Kowloon side’.