Goldfish Market
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Goldfish Market
From the Prince Edward MTR station, you need to cross Prince Edward West Road and walk on Tung Choi Street towards Mong Kok MTR station, the Goldfish Market starts just a block away. On this 300 meter long street, there are about 40 stalls and you will encounter several small stores selling everything from all kinds of fishes and accessories to aquariums in different sizes and shapes.
Also known as Tung Choi Street North, the Goldfish Market is filled with shops devoted to the raising of many types of fish, from weirdly shaped goldfish to colorful tropical species carrying with a gaspingly high price tag. Even if you don’t want bring any of the fish home, you’ll still be amazing by the variety and the quantity of different fish in the Market. Besides goldfish swimming in tanks, you will also find fish swimming in tiny plastic bags hanging on the wall of a shop, which is very unique of the Goldfish Market.
On Feng Shui, goldfish always represents rich or money, putting goldfish in plastic bags means you can take the ‘bag of gold’ home, that's why they sell the fish in plastic bags! Not only money, but the goldfish also represent good luck, so it’s no surprise that this popular pet trade is extremely prominent in Hong Kong.
The rows upon rows, hundreds and hundreds of ornate, tropical, fish hung outside each shop is a magnificent spectacle – especially when lit up at night – and the equal of any aquarium. The exotic animals are also of interest but as they’re generally inside the shop, stowed away in a dark box and can be difficult to sneak a glimpse of. If you visit during the day, you should able to get a little closer to the aquariums, although the street is more impressive when dark.
The Goldfish Market doesn’t just sell fish – also on display is an Indiana Jones like collection of exotic pets, from snakes and spiders to lizards and turtles as well as more mundane cats and dogs. Some of the more exotic species – especially fish, can earn the sellers thousands of dollars. It’s not a completely happy story as there are repeated cases of endangered species changing hands at the market and conditions for many of the animals is grim – although by and large it’s no worse than your average mall pet shop. Unlike across the border in China, where markets like this are notorious for selling rare and unusual animals for food, and these are dying out - the Goldfish Market is only for pet purposes.