Ten Foot Square Asia

Shopping in Hong Kong is just one of the many tourist attractions that draws thousands of visitors annually to this country. The country’s Hong Kong Shopping Festival is a tourist attraction in itself; and with all the things one can buy and all the haggling to do, you just can’t buy enough from Hong Kong.

The country offers an amazing variety of things to buy which never fails to astound well-traveled tourists. All items one could possibly imagine ranging from electrical goods to works of art, clothes and jewelry are affordable enough, particularly if one has the gift for haggling.

Jewelries
As the fourth largest exporter of jewelry in the world, Hong Kong is known to have more jewelry shops than any other city. Jewelry is a good buy in Hong Kong, given the country’s free-port status. Jewelry in all forms – gold, diamonds, pearls, etc. – are abundant and considerably affordable in local shops and department stores. If you’re also buying them in bulk as gifts for relatives back home, quantity is also not a problem.

Jade
One of the most popular items among the Chinese is the jade, an ornamental stone believed to have great spiritual powers. Although the more common color of available jade is in green, there are also jade stones available in shades of white, grey, black, yellow, orange and subtle violet. Denoting power and wealth, jade stones are often carved into shapes such as dragons and deer, because of popular Chinese tradition. When buying jade items, it is best to shop with someone who has considerable knowledge and experience in purchasing them, or someone who knows where to get good quality pieces.

Gold
Another well-desired item is the bright-yellow 24 carat gold called chuk kam, which means “pure gold” in Chinese terms. Stores and specialty shops that carry and produce chuk kam are usually packed and buyers usually have to undergo a bidding process in order to purchase the said item.

Pearls

Pearls are also a good buy in Hong Kong as they come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Pearls in Hong Kong are normally sold for a fraction of what they would cost in other countries.

Some shops give their customers the luxury of designing their own jewelry and the type of metals to be used with it. Haggling for jewelries at jewelry shops is not a common practice, but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try though.