Communal Goods

At 5am, the skies are dark, and the city is sleeping. But in Tin Shui Wai, a new town in the New Territories, some people have already woken up and are getting ready for business. Dozens of hawkers push their trolleys, heavily loaded with merchandise, and gather on a bridge over the Tin Shui Wai River.

At this informal morning market, some elderly hawkers bring homegrown vegetables and herbs; cooking novices might even get some unsolicited tips along with their produce. Some petty traders sell ointment and other types of Chinese medicine. Fresh seafood—live fish, crabs, clams and even frogs—is also available. 

The sun rises, and more kaifongs (residents) appear on the bridge. Some of them have just finished their morning jog, and want to shop for groceries before heading home. Some even stretch against the bridge rails, chatting merrily with the hawkers. Others play a vital role: whistleblower. If officers from the Hawker Control Team at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) show up, they signal the hawkers to run away.

The clock strikes seven, and it’s time for some of the older hawkers to call it a day. The majority of these mobile salesmen move to another spot near Tin Yan Estate, spending more than 20 minutes pushing their wares over. It’s a good place for trade, they say, because a school is nearby, and a lot of mothers like to do some shopping after dropping their kids off.

The morning market near Tin Yan Estate buzzes with even more energy and liveliness. More hawkers join in, and they all have different things to pitch: cheap clothing; incense and offerings; dried seafood. A haircut for $20, performed under the shade of a nearby tree? There’s that, too. More customers arrive. They enthusiastically bargain and chat with the hawkers they banter with every day. It’s a beautiful picture of the authentic, unmanufactured harmony of a community. 
Prosecution by FEHD officers, however, overshadows this local ritual. In 2006, a 65-year-old petty trader who sold Chinese herbs jumped into the river and drowned in an attempt to evade officers. All hawkers at the Tin Shui Wai morning market operate without a permit. What they’re doing is technically illegal, so arrest is commonplace.