Where charm and hipness prosper
Sheung Wan is Hong Kong's up-and-coming boutique district. More expatriates and well-heeled residents are moving to new serviced apartments or luxury high-rise buildings in one of the oldest parts of the city, with streets still famed for their dried seafood and herbal shops. Residents enjoy the mix of local charm and hipness.
Western - as the area is also known - is in the northwest of Hong Kong Island and within walking distance of Central's business district and SoHo's dining and entertainment spots. It is home to a blend of commercial and residential addresses, with some modern apartments refurbished from older buildings.
Sheung Wan's main high street is Queen's Road Central, which snakes through the back of the district and is a major access point to the historic Western Market, the mid-19th-century Man Mo Temple and Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal. Lined with antique, speciality design shops and galleries, Hollywood Road also cuts through the area, leading directly to trendy SoHo.
If you want to stay in the neighbourhood, more cosy cafes and fine-dining restaurants have started popping up along Hollywood Road, from a bustling New York-style brasserie and Italian eateries to an Argentine steakhouse and French restaurants.
If you work in Central, the quickest way to get to work during rush hour is to walk. Many residential buildings in Sheung Wan are about five to 10 minutes by foot from Sheung Wan MTR station. From there, Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui stations can all be reached within 10 minutes.
There is a huge bus terminus underneath Exchange Square in nearby Central, and many buses run along Des Voeux Road and Connaught Road. Outside peak hours, it's easy to hop into a taxi and reach neighbouring districts within minutes. However, getting to Tsim Sha Tsui by taxi could take 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic.
For a weekend getaway in Macau, frequent ferries operate the one-hour trip 24 hours a day. For those in a hurry, there is also a helicopter service to the enclave. The Airport Express from Hong Kong Station in Central whisks travellers to the airport in 24 minutes.
Many Sheung Wan residents shop for fresh produce and meat at the Central Market or pick up staples at mid-sized supermarkets. For a broader range of international groceries, Central's many gourmet food shops are only a short distance away.
Beside Sheung Wan's many dried-food shops, jewellers and antique shops, more boutiques selling designer clothing and trendy accessories are opening. Along the small side streets off Hollywood Road, art galleries showcase contemporary works by international artists.
As with most neighbourhoods in Hong Kong, finding a restaurant is easy, but deciding on which one is difficult.
The charming and quiet Gough Street, which was historically filled with family-run printing presses and noodle shops, now houses European-style cafes and restaurants offering cuisines including French, New York-style pizza and, of course, beef brisket soup noodles.
If you walk around Sheung Wan, two historic monuments will be hard to miss: the incense-shrouded and colourful Man Mo Temple, which pays tribute to the god of literature, and the Edwardian-style Western Market, which now houses souvenir shops, fabric retailers and a delicious dim sum restaurant on the second floor. Also, opposite the former wet market, there is a terminus for the world's largest fleet of double-decker trams, which has been running since 1904.
Sheung Wan is an alluring neighbourhood where traditional character and charm, blends with modern convenience.
