Stanley Market Hong Kong - The slow death of an icon
Stanley Market in Hong Kong needs to be revitalised NOW!
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years - I know the place.
I have personally completed 2,300+ Private Tours and Experiences (over 6,000+ guests) since April 2011 and I am considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
A blog post with a difference
Please do visit Hong Kong in 2025 | Travel, Tourism, Tours, Tips, Daily Life and my personal thoughts on Hong Kong.
Hong Kong | Pearl of the Orient
Customised Private Tours & Experiences in Amazing Hong Kong
Pearl of the Orient
Private Tours Cultural Tours Walking Tours Sightseeing Tours City Tours Night Tours Transit Tours Shore Excursions
Carefully Crafted Personalised and Customised Itineraries by Jamie | Hong Kong’s Most Experienced Private Tour Guide For :
Solo Travellers Friends Families Seniors Couples Business People
J3 Group Hong Kong | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong
Creating Memories That Will Last A Lifetime
Book Now
Stanley Market Hong Kong - The fall and fall of Stanley Market
Stanley Market in Hong Kong needs to be revitalised NOW!
click on the image to enlarge
In 2018 Stanley Market and Stanley the town were hopping!, in 2025 it is a shadow of it’s former self and badly needs a reboot!
“Stanley Market is one of the must-go places for tourists when they visit Hong Kong. You will find an interesting array of little shops selling silk garments, sportswear, art, Chinese costume jewelry and souvenirs. While a bit "touristy" if you are a tourist it will certainly help you to cross off all the items on your souvenirs-to-buy-Aunt-Jane shopping list. A hard morning of shopping is also nicely finished off by a good lunch at one of the many restaurants, which are the reason that Hong Kong locals also frequent the area.
Yep, as you can tell this is not my blurb! and it is hardly a ringing endorsement of Stanley and Stanley Market.
……. and this is the blurb from the Hong Kong Tourism Board website
Take your time to explore the daily market’s labyrinth of enticing stores and stalls selling a huge range of items from costume jewellery, affordable clothing and sportswear to toys, herbal teas, bric-a-brac souvenirs and even paintings by local artists. Check out the vibrantly patterned tableware — which includes plates, bowls and teapots — that comes in a range of colours and motifs, and is often on sale, especially if you’re looking to furnish your new apartment.”
Below are 2 recent 2025 reviews on Tripadvisor which highlight the issues
Stanley Market Hong Kong
Nat
Montreal, Canada180 contributions
Worth a visit when in Hong Kong
Feb 2025 • Solo
I got some decent artwork from this market. While locals would tell you to stay away because they consider Stanley Market a tourist trap I don't agree - first of all I enjoyed the nice bus ride there from Central/Wan Chai, as the view of Repulse Bay and surrounding areas was very nice from the bus. And second of all, when you're a visitor you just want to soak up everything. And I didn't think I was getting ripped off when purchasing the artwork that I got. I'd love paying artists enough to reward them for their creativity. I got a nice photo of Victoria Harbour framed in a not too big, not too small frame that I could bring home in my checked-in luggage.
It was quite sad and depressing though to see a whole block of shuttered shops facing the water, seemingly abandoned. I think this is all the more reason to come visit the Market to support local businesses. I'm sure their businesses have suffered in the past few years amidst the turmoil in the city which led many to leave Hong Kong and also turned away many tourists
.Written 10 April 2025
Ian H
Melbourne, Australia68 contributions
Must see but disappointing
Mar 2025 • Couples
Came back after 10 years away from Hong Kong, market disappointing, many shops closed, smokers everywhere so couldn't breathe under cover, not the market it used to be and prices far more expensive than years gone by with disinterested stall holders, still a must do but after 45 minutes it was all over, spent more time at Starbucks with coffee avoiding the ludicrous 10% surcharges on every bit of food and drink
Written 25 March 2025
I first went to Stanley on January 3rd 1972, the day after we arrived in Hong Kong as a family and I have been there probably close to 800+ times since, I have fond memories of Stanley and Stanley Market and frankly as a long time resident of Hong Kong (53 years and counting) and as a Private Tour Guide I have a different take on the problems that Stanley and Stanley Market face in this social media age with every changing tourism patterns and preferences so to speak.
A question that I am always asked is a simple one “Is Stanley worth a visit?”
My unequivocal answer is always a resounding YES - despite the fact that as of April 2025 it is certainly not the Stanley that I know and yet the problems it has are easy to solve and the big problem it has is simply one of perception.
The image above that I took recently in late March 2025 does not convey the complete lack of atmosphere,
Stanley has always been so much more than Stanley Market and yet no matter how many articles are written, Stanley Market is all people read about and that all revolves around Stanley Market being a tourist trap, yes that dreaded tourism cliche which is normally the death knell for an interesting place.
I imagine a lot of residents of Stanley would prefer NOT to revitalise Stanley, you see Stanley at its best on a Sunday when it is packed with residents and tourists just having a good time, this needs to be like this 7 days a week as frankly it is depressing the other 6 days a week by comparison.
Basically Stanley needs to be divided into 5 main sections to really understand why you should visit Stanley
The amazing bus ride to Stanley from the Central Business District going through some of the most affluent districts in Hong Kong with some awesome sea views on the way.
Stanley Market
Stanley Promenade and Stanley Main Street
The Hop On Hop Off bus rides to Stanley
Other things to see in Stanley
I should also make this perfectly clear, if you take a trip to Stanley with a Private Tour Guide (NOT a group tour or a bus tour) you will gain a much greater appreciation of Stanley and Hong Kong in general - my running commentary on the Upper deck of a bus to or from Stanley can be rather enthralling and half the bus can hear me!
The Amazing Bus Ride to Stanley
I just love it, plenty of options (route 6, 6X and 260) from Exchange Square in the business district, as there are 3 routes it should not be difficult to snag the front seats on the upper deck of the bus, I have never failed to get the front seats if even it means missing a bus and catching the next one.
All I will say is that the scenery is just fabulous as you travel through Wanchai, Deep Water Bay and Repulse Bay.
Stanley Market
It has NOT recovered from Covid, even though Hong Kong reopened in April 2023 (for tourism) the number of visitors is still nowhere near the great year of 2018 when 65 million visitors came to Hong Kong
Stanley Market has always appealed to tourists as opposed to Hong Kong residents, although our family has always bought linen and antiques (!) from shops in the market., so until tourism numbers reach the heady heights of 2018 it will remain a shadow of its former self
To be honest I did notice that there are quite a few new shops and also a lot of vacant premises are being renovated so there are new signs of life bu that does not really address the underlying issues
Historically Stanley Market was always the main selling point (along with a trip to Victoria Peak) for coach tour companies in Hong Kong who have been taking tourists to Stanley for over 60 years now and we should be thankful to them for keeping the market going.. and that leads into the market itself.
It is NOT in any shape or form like the much more well known and famous Kowloon Street Markets The Ladies Market in Mong Kok and the Temple Street Night Market in Jordan.
I think that has always been the issue, basically Stanley Market is a street of shops NOT market stalls so it really does lack the buzz that you feel in the Kowloon Markets and you can easily walk through Stanley Market in around 5 minutes if nothing catches your eye. There some market stalls near the shops but those can be counted on one hand.
I am quite sure a team of market researchers (who work for retail property companies) had a look at why Stanley Market is dying they would surmise that a row of shops with no customers browsing is a major issue, it just seems to be a lot easier to browse a market stall than it is to enter an empty shop which can look a little intimidating and you have to deal with aggressive and desperate shop staff.
Unlike the Kowloon Markets which unashamedly sell tourist junk, Stanley Market has a reputation for being expensive and selling stuff that is of little interest to tourists and I would have to agree with that, you do not need to be a retail expert to know that the rent on a market stall is a lot, lot cheaper than the rent on an actual shop!
As I have been going there for over 50 years the one thing I have noticed is that the products on sale do not change that much, if you are called Stanley Market then you need a market atmosphere, you need the right product mix and you need to create a buzz
I have always thought that one of the big missing things in Stanley Market was a street food section, this has worked wonders for the Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon and whilst there are plenty of restaurants on Stanley Promenade and Stanley Main Street these are expensive (they are however very popular with locals on Sundays and holidays) I am surprised that they have not considered this for Stanley Market.
Stanley Promenade and Stanley Main Street
These are roughly 5 minutes walk from Stanley Market, part of the promenade was given over to “gift shops” many of which have closed but Stanley Main Street still buzzes at weekends, the change in atmosphere is really something and I love taking guests to some of the nice but expensive restaurants on this strip.
During the week this area is quite quiet but on the weekend, gosh, it hops and hops large!
The Hop on Hop off buses to Stanley
Operated by the Big Bus Company and more recently Citybus (a major franchised public transport company) I would have thought that these buses would have had a much bigger impact on increasing the numbers of visitors to Stanley but they are a lot more expensive than regular public transport offered by Citybus (!) and you have just a limited time to explore as you have to hop back on the bus or wait for another hour!
However both operations offer open top double decker buses which are FUN! and the views are just amazing, you cannot complain about the awesome ride if the sun is out and you have a seat on the upper deck!
My biggest pet peeve and I recently wrote a long blog post about it, is why isn’t there a franchised bus route from Victoria Peak to Stanley.
I did write to Citybus (generic response) and the Big Bus Company (no response) and asked why they do NOT do this route, I cannot think of any reason why they cannot do it as Citybus runs a route to Victoria Peak and to Stanley but not Victoria Peak to Stanley. The Peak gets up to 10 million visitors a year and I am sure many people would love the option to go from the Peak to Stanley on a double decker bus at a public transport cost.
Other things to see and do in Stanley
Plenty
Stanley Plaza Mall - restaurants, shops, supermarkets and 5 minutes from Stanley Market
Murray House - a restored colonial building from 160 years ago, was in the business district and was relocated to Stanley, was full of nice restaurants but they have all closed but it is still a lovely old colonial building
Blake Pier another 100 year old colonial structure and located next to Murray House, so much history and some awesome scenic sea views from the end of the Pier
A bunch of interesting local temples one of which is next to Starbucks in Stanley Plaza Mall
Stanley Ma Hang Park, entrance next to Blake Pier
Stanley Post Office 2 minutes walk from Stanley Market, over a hundred years old and a protected building
various Churches and religious compounds
a nice beach or two
Stanley Prison (maximum security)
Stanley Military Cemetery which is very serene and moving and a short (ish) walk from Stanley Market
So, yes, Stanley is so much more than Stanley Market and I just love going there and so should you but then again I am a private tour guide and I could make a discarded decomposing turnip on the side walk seem interesting.
So what next?
It maybe my imagination but for all the talk from the Hong Kong Government about revitalising tourism in Hong Kong, Stanley does not appear to be an important part of their plans.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board does its best but with 80% of Hong Kong’s visitors coming from Mainland China, there priorities are elsewhere and to this day you hardly see any Mainland Chinese Tourists in Stanley which is odd given that there are plenty of selfie spots to be had and for them selfies are the name of the game in 2025n extra
I have my own thoughts and ideas on how to stop the slow death of Stanley Market and to breathe new life into it and the bullet point ideas are listed below
A direct double decker bus route (with the proper frequency of service) from Victoria Peak to Stanley 7 days a week, this could potentially bring in a million visitors to Stanley over a year
A ferry service (and why not a Star Ferry Service?) from Central District on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon to Stanley, there is already a pier there or they could simply build another one, they could also consider a fast ferry service to Stanley, plenty of companies and boats around to offer this sort of service (based on the Cheung Chau Island slow ferry and fast ferry service)
I am not suggesting they demolish all the shops in Stanley Market, but they have the space to make a stall type of operation like the Kowloon Street Markets, people love to browse market stalls and haggle but are intimidated by shops that are empty of customers.
Change or significantly add to the sort of products available for sale in Stanley, at the moment the Kowloon Street Markets show how it should be done and Stanley simply cannot compete, markets are about buzz and Stanley Market does NOT have it.
Please refer to the image above in Stanley just a couple of minutes from Stanley Market, you could create a street food section based on the one at the Temple Street Night Market which has been a big success, this will surely attract a lot of visitors. this spot here which is a 5 minute stretch between Stanley Main Street and Stanley Market is perfect for a street food section, they could demolish the existing structures (many of which are closed) and start again, no more crappy drink shops or gift stores, just a section to sample the best of Hong Kong Street food - or they could even turn this section into a market stall section like the Kowloon Street Markets, it could run from lunchtime to dinnertime and would certainly liven up Stanley at night.
This is the street food section of the Temple Street Night Market in Jordan, Kowloon, they could easily transplant this idea to the spot in Stanley shown above.
My final point is that all is not lost for Stanley Market and Stanley itself, it just needs the authorities to move quickly and make it happen, this is a reboot, the essence of what makes Stanley so popular with residents and tourists still remains
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong |
| 2010 - 2025 All rights reserved. |
Click on any image to enlarge to full screen
Current images from my Instagram feed
