Peace returns to raucous Hong Kong pedestrian zone after buskers pack up, but not everyone is happy
Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok is again open for vehicles round the clock at weekends but some shopkeepers say there are now fewer passers-by and business has fallen
The buskers have gone, the noise has dropped but not everyone is happy now that a Hong Kong pedestrian zone notorious for its decibel levels has closed.
This weekend – the first without street performers in 18 years – Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok is again open for vehicles round the clock – and is now just another crowded street indistinguishable from any other shopping area in the city.
“It feels like it’s just a normal weekday now,” Ray Wong, manager of a phone accessory store on the street, said on Saturday. “The whole atmosphere is different now, and my business has got worse.”
According to Wong, there were apparently fewer pedestrians in the area on Saturday night, which left him “a bit disappointed”.
Previously based in Causeway Bay, Wong’s store moved to the area four months ago in a bid to attract more customers in the bustling environment.
However, Wong conceded the street was “more relaxing to live in” for local residents.