219 Best Places to Shop in Hong Kong, China

This sprawling one-stop shop, just a stone's throw from the Kowloon Star Ferry terminal, carries a long list of high-profile and niche beauty brands.

Fang Fong fell in love with the vintage feel of the SoHo district as a design graduate and vowed to move in. She chose a light-filled studio space to display her floaty, 1970s-inspired clothing line, with its bold prints and sexy wisps of lace and silk. She also brought her friends with her, or at least those who suited her vibe.

Track down this tiny gem for secondhand CDs, DVDs, magazines, and wall-to-wall used books in English. The range is extraordinary, and the organizational system baffling, but the owner is knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to poke among the shelves for you. Books here average around HK$40, compared to a few hundred new.

Huge bucketfuls of roses and gerbera spill out onto the sidewalk along Flower Market Road, a collection of street stalls selling cut flowers and potted plants. Delicate orchids and vivid birds of paradise are some of the more exotic blooms. During Chinese New Year, there's a roaring trade in narcissi, poinsettias, and bright yellow chrysanthemums—all auspicious flowers.

A local favorite for more than 25 years, Fook Ming Tong is known for excellent service and high-quality longjing, oolong, and jasmine teas that have been painstakingly sourced by tea masters. There are six Hong Kong branches, including the main one in the IFC Mall.

This Japanese home and living store has everything you'd need to equip your downtown apartment, from bookshelves to bubble bath. The funky, colorfully modern designs and intriguing gadgets will keep all types of shoppers entertained, and it's quite a feat to leave the store with empty hands.

The name of this pioneering lifestyle brand stands for “Goods of Desire,” and the items it sells live up to that. G.O.D. plays with ideas, designs, and words drawn from Hong Kong's unique heritage, with imaginative yet functional results. Its huge product range consists mostly of home furnishings and tableware, though there is a renewed focus on fashion—the collection of original design Hong Kong tees is particularly cute. Affordable creations, such as red rubber trays for making "double happiness" character ice cubes, Buddha statues irreverently turned into wine stoppers, and old-fashioned Chinese textiles reimagined in modern settings, manage to be both nostalgic and contemporary. Buy a trendy gift or unique vintage-style postcards for the folks back home.

This inexpensive chain carries men's and women's business wear in Asian sizes. It's a great place to look for suits with matching shirts (and ties) for a good price. Expect a mix of city-chic and casual, and especially good fits for anyone petit.

The city's first gallery specializing in studio glass has a bilevel backdrop of modern glass sculptures by artists from Southeast Asia, Australia, and the United States. It has also branched out to include a variety of paintings from primarily Chinese-Australian artists—expect everything from watercolors to abstract, pop works to traditional oils. By appointment only.

This is the next-best option for midrange pearls if you can't make it to the Jade Market. Gallery One blends into Hollywood Road's backdrop of trinket-filled storefronts, but its selection of Japanese and freshwater pearls stands out. Prices are reasonable, and they will string together whichever combination of pearls and semiprecious stones you choose. Gallery One also carries Tibetan and Buddhist beads in wood and amber, as well as bronze sculptures.

Hong Kong's version of the Gap is the most established and ubiquitous local source for basic T-shirts, jeans, and casual wear. Like its U.S. counterpart, the brand now has a bit more fashion sense, but prices are still reasonable. Although the flagship store is in Manson House on Nathan Road, you'll have no problem finding one on almost every major street.

If Giordano is the Gap, giordano ladies is the Banana Republic, albeit with a more Zen aesthetic. Find clean-line modern classics in neutral black, gray, white, and beige; each collection is brightened by a soft highlight color, such as leafy green, indigo, or rusty orange. Everything is elegant enough for the office and comfortable enough for the plane.

It's the most famous—some would say infamous—computer arcade in town. Know what you want before you go to avoid being dazed by the sheer volume of computer equipment and software.

Goldfish are thought to bring good luck in Hong Kong (though aquariums have to be properly positioned for maximum benefit), and this small collection of sellers is a favorite local source. Shop fronts are decorated with bags of glistening, pop-eyed creatures, waiting for someone to take them home. Some of the fish for sale inside are serious rarities and fetch unbelievable prices.

Elegant lacquerware makes a wonderful gift. The pieces sold here—tabletop items and picture frames among them—are reasonably priced and come in classic red and black as well as silver and gold. In addition to the Stanley Market store, there's a second one in Ap Lei Chau's Horizon Plaza.

Director and chief curator Henry Au-yeung writes about, curates, and gives lectures on 20th-century Chinese art. His tucked-away gallery focuses exclusively on local Chinese artists, with an interest in the newest and most avant-garde works. Look for paintings, sculptures, prints, mixed-media pieces, and conceptual installations.

This is a rare opportunity to compare and contrast cutting-edge and experimental Chinese art selected by one of the field's most respected authorities. Unassuming curatorial director Johnson Chang Tsong-zung also cofounded the Asia Art Archive and has curated exhibitions at the São Paolo and Venice biennials.

When this legendary British retailer announced its Hong Kong opening, locals were skeptical, saying nothing would ever live up to the original London store. But Harvey Nicks quickly had them eating their (Philip Treacy) hats with the sheer volume of hypercool labels the store stocks. The menswear section has been a particularly big hit with local celebs, while local tai-tais (ladies who lunch) have declared the fourth-floor restaurant the place for mid-shopping-spree coffee breaks. The flagship store covers 83,000 glorious square feet; and there is a second sprawling location in Admiralty's Pacific Place.

Of all the cheaper alternatives to Shanghai Tang, this is the best. It has a fantastic selection of Mao collared jackets for boys and girls. Chinese-style onesies come in muted, non-cartoonish colors, and cost around HK$85.

Pleasantly quirky but with a finger firmly on the pulse of the city, this small design brand emporium has its flagship in NoHo (North of Hollywood Road), one of Central's up and coming nooks. The store showcases some of its own in-house creations, but it mostly stocks pieces from modern-day design icons. Come here to pick up a Tom Dixon bowler-hat lampshade or a Pac Man–shape oven glove by Fred. Try its basement café for brunch on Saturday.

Highly respected dealers Lucille and Glenn Vessa (one of the few accredited appraisers here) were the first to set up shop on Hollywood Road nearly half a century ago. The gallery has managed to keep its original location, with a front-row seat to the neighborhood's transformation into the art hub it is today. Currently helmed by John and Laurie Fairman, who started their own Honeychurch 40 years ago in Seattle, the shop still provides fine Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian antique silver, porcelain, and unaltered furniture with four additional floors of show space next door.

The art world's version of a pub crawl, Hong Kong Art Walk is an excellent chance to experience the gallery scene. Held over the course of one evening every year, usually in the spring, it gives ticket holders unlimited access to more than 70 galleries where food and drinks donated by neighboring restaurants help create a festive environment. Partial proceeds go to charity, fine arts graduation shows, and participating artists.

You'll find a good selection of current local and international CDs and DVDs at this age-old company. A lower profile also means prices are sometimes lower than in flashier retailers.

With 28 floors of high-end fashion and housewares, the huge Horizon Plaza is a good choice for shoppers who have more taste than money. Joyce, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Diesel, and others all have outlet stores on the upper floors. If you’re interested in dressing up your home, Tequila Kola has funky furniture, TREE sells eco-chic items, and Shambala’s showroom brims with antique treasures.

Across the street from Causeway Bay's popular Sogo looms neighborhood newcomer Hysan Place. This gleaming 17-story mall devotes the fourth and fifth floors to Japanese and Korean designers. Try on urban-chic garb from Daily Dolly, Snidel, and Deicy, then head up to the sixth floor for pampering. Dubbed the Garden of Eden, this level is overflowing with name-brand beauty products, lingerie shops, dessert counters, and nail salons. For a fix of fresh air, step out onto the Sky Garden on the fourth level, or slip into the three-level Eslite bookstore to relax with a book and a cuppa.

Yves Azemar indulges his passion for rare books and prints about former French colonies in Asia in this tiny apartment, which he converted into a library–shop in 2003. The former French schoolteacher is happy to sit and chat about this fascinating genre—the lectures are never boring.

This team of local designers creates simple but whimsical clothing with a trendy urban edge. The bags and accessories strike a soft vintage tone, fitting the store's fashionably worn interiors, casually strewn secondhand furniture, and sultry jazz soundtrack. In Causeway Bay, you'll find distinct men's and women's stores. To shop both together under one roof, you'll have to trek up to Sha Tin.

Inside takes Asian concepts and motifs and transforms them into its own fresh, contemporary home accessories, soft furnishings, table linens, bath products, and gifts. Made from natural materials and fibers, the products come in signature white and sun-bleached tones with a few well-placed pops of color. There's a nice balance of luxury and casual items, with prices to match.

In 1987 the women's division of noted men's tailor W.W. Chan branched off and was renamed Irene Fashions. You can expect the same level of expertise and a large selection of fine fabrics. Experienced at translating ideas and pictures into clothing, in-house designers will sketch and help you develop concepts. Like its parent company, Irene promises that the same tailor will take you through the entire process, and most of the work is done onsite.