17 Best Places to Shop in Hong Kong, China

This may just be the most dramatic and luxurious shopping mall ever built in Hong Kong. Composed of curved, sculptural shapes, the building is an architectural stunner even from the outside; inside, bronze-color waves, walls swathed in greenery, and contemporary art installations elevate the experience even further. The washrooms are equally theatrical, with gorgeous powder spaces. Shopping gears towards the pricier side, with well-known luxury brands populating the floors. Check out MoMA Design Store—affiliated with New York's Museum of Modern Art—for curated artistic gifts, houseware, and lifestyle goods.

If you're looking to come down to fashion earth after the designer heaven that is Central, Sha Tin's New Town Plaza is a great bet. Unless you're on the way to Shenzhen, it's somewhat detached from the usual tourist circuit. However, the New Territories' best mall has more than 350 mid-range shops and restaurants anchored by the U.K.'s Marks & Spencer. The usual local suspects abound, but lesser known local brands like Pedder Red have stores here, too. A huge multiplex cinema draws crowds on weekends. New Town Plaza is also home to one of Hong Kong's kitschier attractions: Snoopy's World, celebrating Schultz's famous cartoon dog.

Located in residential Kowloon Tong, about 20 minutes from Central on the MTR, Festival Walk stretches across six floors, with Marks & Spencer, an Apple store, MUJI, and H&M serving as anchors. Vivienne Tam and PS by Paul Smith draw the elite crowds; ba&sh and Club Monaco keep the trend spotters happy. If you want a respite from the sometimes scorching-hot weather, Festival Walk also has one of the city's largest ice rinks, a multiplex cinema, and numerous restaurants and cafés.

The four interconnected complexes that make up Harbour City contain almost 500 shops between them—if you can't find it here, it probably doesn't exist. Pick up a map on your way in, as it's easy to get lost. Ocean Terminal, the largest section, runs along the harbor and is divided thematically, with kids' wear and toys on the ground floor, and sports and cosmetics on the first. The top floor is home to white-hot department store LCX. Near the Star Ferry pier, the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel Arcade has branches of the department store Lane Crawford. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Burberry are some of the posher boutiques that fill the Ocean Centre and Gateway Arcade, parallel to Canton Road. Most of the complex's restaurants are here, too—including the popular American import, The Cheesecake Factory. A cinema and three hotels round out Harbour City's offerings.

Free Wi-Fi is available.

This gleaming mall packs most of Hong Kong's best-known stores into 16 frenzied floors, organized thematically. Lane Crawford and Marks & Spencer both have branches here, as does favored local gourmet grocer City'super. Many beauty brands are located in the basement, giving way to names like Bottega Veneta and Cartier on the second floor, and midrange options like Zara higher up. The electronics, sports, and outdoors selection is particularly good. An indoor atrium hosts everything from rock bands to fashion shows to local movie stars.

Among the dozen or so eateries, classic Lei Garden is a good pick, thanks to its excellent dim sum menu and Zen interior.

An ice-skating rink and a multiplex theater are two of the reasons Cityplaza is the territory's most popular family mall—so popular, in fact, that it's best to steer clear on weekends, when you have to fight through the crowds. Toys and children's clothing labels are well represented, as are mid-range local and international adult brands. Cityplaza also has branches of Marks & Spencer (the largest in Hong Kong) and Japanese supermarket APiTa. There are also nearly 100 food outlets in the mall where you can get everything from a snack to a fancy meal. 

This upscale shopping mall is in the Kowloon West residential and commercial district, just above Kowloon's Airport Express train and check-in station. Beautifully designed, it's divided into five different zones based on the titular elements: metal, wood, water, earth, and fire. This is one-stop shopping as far as international luxury brands are concerned, with Valentino, Prada, and Gucci, just to name a few.

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 Beams, Dickies, or Rains, 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.

Packed with designer boutiques and the department store Lane Crawford, IFC Mall sits above the Hong Kong MTR station with its in-town airport check-in desks, and connects to the Four Seasons Hotel. Leisure facilities include a plush cinema multiplex and a roof terrace with stunning harbor views.

This hip micromall played a big part in putting Causeway Bay on the fashion map. Shoe-box-size boutiques fill its four cramped floors—some showcase small, local designers; others stock Japanese and Korean brands hard to find overseas. Edgy club wear competes for the space with cutesy numbers for girls who just don't want to grow up. Indeed, many of the clothes look like they'll only fit local schoolgirls, but not to worry: Island Beverley has a great selection of bags, accessories, and jewelry.

Central's most prestigious shopping site is home to a bevy of big-name upscale fashion brands. Even if your credit-card limit isn't up to a spree here, swanky Café Landmark is a great place to watch moneyed fashionistas on a retail therapy kick. A pedestrian bridge links the mall with shopping arcades in Landmark Prince's, Landmark Alexandra, Landmark Chater, and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

The light beige sandstone of Langham Place stands in stark contrast to the pulsating neon signs and crumbling residential blocks around it. Yet the mall—with nearly 200 shops packed into 15 floors—has fast become a fixture on Mong Kok's chaotic shopping scene. It is especially popular with youngsters, who are drawn by the Asian labels in offbeat boutiques ranged around a spiral walkway from the 9th to 12th floors. Extra-long escalators—dubbed \"Xpresscalators\"—whisk you quickly up four levels at a time. The elegant glass-and-steel skyscraper across the road is the Langham Place Hotel; its stylish dining patio, The Backyard, offers the serenest of outdoor sanctuaries in one of the region's most congested neighborhoods.

These two adjacent malls are a firm favorite with local celebrities. They come as much for the mall's low-key atmosphere—a world away from the bustle of Central—as for the clothes. And with so many big names under one small roof—Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès, to name but a few—who can blame them? The second floor of Lee Gardens Two is taken up with designer kiddie wear. The two buildings, one on either side of Hysan Avenue, are linked by a second-floor footbridge.

This 18-story mall is a great option for family shopping expeditions: those with minimal retail stamina can amuse themselves at IKEA, the IMAX theater, or the skating rink, and there are also numerous on-site eateries. However, unlike other malls that are in walking distance from MTR stations, visitors need to take a free shuttle here from the Kowloon Bay MTR station. To catch it, exit the MTR station at Exit A and go through Telford Plaza; you can always ask the Plaza concierge if you're confused. Shuttles run about every 10 minutes.

Not to be confused with the neighboring Miramar Shopping Centre, this mall targets Hong Kong's young elite and has offerings like agnès b. and Coach.

Quieter and more exclusive than most competitors, this marble-clad mall is popular with well-to-do residents. High-end fashions, a Lane Crawford department store, and several excellent restaurants share the floor space, while some of Hong Kong's swankiest hotels cluster around it, including JW Marriott, the Island Shangri-La, Conrad, and the Upper House.

High-end international prêt-à-porter fills most of its four floors. When your bags are weighing you down, sandwiches, sushi, and Starbucks are on hand, as is a multiplex cinema. The JW Marriott, the Island Shangri-La, the Conrad, and the Upper House hotels are connected to this plaza, all with enticing afternoon tea options. Elevated walkways join Pacific Place with four arcades: the Admiralty Centre, United Centre, Queensway Plaza, and fashion-forward Lab Concept.

Many a quirky Hong Kong street-wear trend is born in this fabulous micromall. Don't let its grubby exterior put you off: the arcade is a haven of Asian cool. Japanese designers are particularly well represented. Handmade shoes and oversize retro jewelry are other fixtures, all at bargain prices.