Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po

A stroll around the streets south of Cheung Sha Wan Road, in Sham Shui Po, where shophouses from the 1920s and 30s survive in significant numbers, offers a glimpse into early-20th-century Hong Kong.

The area is best known for the Apliu ('duck coop') Street market, where shoppers can pick up cheap electronic gadgets of all shapes and sizes - and the occasional illegal satellite television decoder. The government has tried to brand the market as Hong Kong's answer to Tokyo's neon-pulsing Akihabara, but Apliu Street is much more down to earth.

However, there's more to the area than cheap - and possibly stolen - electronic goods. Small-scale factories once thrived in Sham Shui Po ('deep water pier'), benefiting from what used to be a dock at the junction of Pei Ho and Tung Chau streets. Many churned out beads, lace and thread, and these goods are still easy to find in the area: beads on Yu Chau Street, buttons on Ki Lung Street and zips and ribbon on Nam Cheong Street.

At J&J Imitation Jewellery (215 Yu Chau Street, tel: 2491 2323), you'll find a huge range of 60s-style beads. At J&J and similar stores, HK$100 will buy a big bag of baubles: marble-sized beads, plastic bangles and butterfly-shaped stickers.

Around the corner, on Pei Ho Street, there's a substantial street market selling clothing, shoes and assorted trinkets. One stall sells HK$15 shirts and HK$20 basketball shorts. The next stall stocks everything you'd need for personal grooming, cutting and sewing: scissors, nail clippers, razor blades, nail scissors, thread and needle spools.

Duck into any of the open stairwells and you'll see the thin steel letterboxes, covered in dust and rust, that inspired local designer Douglas Young to create a whole line of Hong Kong-abilia at his GOD lifestyle store.