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Just as you can’t come to Hong Kong without trying their dim sum and wonton noodles, for many Hong Kong as a destination has been chosen with one thing in mind - shopping.

Every big label you have ever heard of can be found here, as well as a good smaller names you have yet to discover. Hong Kong is known as a shopper’s paradise, and with good reason. Gone are the days you were met with an an abrupt and unsmiling “ $100!” in response to a query, today you’re likely to be treated with courtesy from the moment you step into the shop until the time you leave.

Obviously, unless you’re shopping at one of the big designer shops you have to be careful that that bag you’re buying really is Prada or those shoes are the real Jimmy Choos (ensure that the item you examined is the one that goes into the bag you take away with you), but all in all retailers are monitored as much as possible by the Consumer Council, and if you have a complaint you can call their hotline (852) 2929 2222 and they will try to ensure a fair outcome, or at least that the retailer doesn’t do the same again. If they can’t then they will blacklist them.

For any real shop-alcoholic the street markets are a must. Here you can haggle with vendors over anything from clothes to an old piece of antique furniture.

Examples of street markets are Stanley Market ( Stanley, Hong Kong), Ladies’ Market (in Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok ,Kowloon), & the Temple Street Night Market (Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon). Most in evidence as you drive or walk along the streets of Hong Kong are the huge shopping areas.

Districts such as Central (which boasts Prince’s Building, Chater House and Landmark, popular meeting places and where you can find every designer label there is under three roofs), Wan Chai, Tai Koo Shing, Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Festival Walk (in Kowloon Tong) are guaranteed to full-fill all your shopping needs.