The Future of Graham Street Market

Graham Street Market isn’t always a pleasant place. It’s often dirty, noisy and crowded. You’ve probably been glared at for bumping into someone’s grocery bags. You’ve probably been yelled at by a vendor or two for scoffing at a price. But the little market in the middle of Central, right beside the Mid-Levels escalator, is an authentic and lively testament to the real Hong Kong. Though fairly modest in size: 38 operators spread across three streets—Graham, Gage and Peel—the market provides fresh, affordable produce to residents across Hong Kong. Everything from meat to vegetables to dried seafood, Chinese medicine and incense. The city’s oldest market has fought and lived for 172 years in a rapidly developing city—but it might not survive the Urban Renewal Authority.

The Urban Renewal Authority is a quasi-governmental, profit-making body, formed in 2001 to promote and undertake urban regeneration in Hong Kong. In July 2007 the URA announced plans to demolish the old tong laus on Graham and Peel Streets—in the process, tearing down the Graham Street Market. In its place, there would be four high-rises: two residential blocks, one office building and one hotel. After local activists put up a fight, the authority promised to clear one area, “Site B,” first, and build a two-story wet market complex to rehouse affected shop owners, before starting work on the other two sites, “A” and “C” (see map, below). All well and good.

Graham Street Market (highlighted in orange)

Except six years later, there’s still no sign of the agreed new wet market, and the URA is taking action regardless—they’ve sent vendors eviction letters, and made known fresh details that suggest most of the stall owners will have no help from the URA in finding a new home on the redeveloped Graham Street. The three streets are in uproar. Activists and legislators fear that if the community doesn’t step in, the market could be completely eradicated as early as next March. With Graham Street going the way of Central Market in 2003, the neighborhood won’t even have a market at all.

A New Wet Market… for Some

After a string of negotiations, the URA’s plans to conserve the market were finally passed in 2008. Even activists such as Katty Law, convener of the Central and Western Concern Group, were happy with the result. “It wasn’t ideal, but it was acceptable,” she says. “So we moved our efforts to monitoring the URA instead.” But compare the URA’s statements in early stages to how they’ve executed those claims in real life, and you’ll see: the devil’s in the details.

Originally presented as an effort to “conserve the market,” in reality the URA’s promised new wet market will only conserve half of the stores—and that’s not even including the 18 green tin stalls that line the streets. There are only 10 shop spaces available in the new complex, and those are intended exclusively for vendors selling wet goods, such as fish, vegetables, fruits and meat.