Celebrating CNY in Hong Kong, where it's 'grand and festive'

Man Mo Temple is where parents take their children for blessings before sitting for an exam. — Photos: Hong Kong Tourism Board

It's normal to want to travel abroad during a festive season just to experience what it is like to celebrate in another country. For example, many people head to Europe during the year-end holidays to have a “cool Christmas”. If they’re lucky, there might even be snow.

During the Chinese New Year, some folks make a trip to Hong Kong or Taiwan, where the celebration is grand and festive. Of course, it’s usually grand in Malaysia too, but it’s always good to experience something new, right?

We can’t travel anywhere yet, but there is a specially curated virtual Chinese New Year “tour” of Hong Kong that’s ready for all to explore.

Called Fortunes In Hong Kong, this campaign takes you on a journey of discovery via online experiences and offers. It runs until Feb 26, and you access it now on discoverhongkong.com.

Recently, the Hong Kong Tourism Board organised a virtual tour of Hong Kong’s busy Central district, taking viewers on a trip to famous temples, a flower market, a cool shopping street and an iconic snacks store that’s famous among locals, especially during the festive seasons.Here are some of the places you can visit in the city, when it is finally safe to travel abroad again.

Thierry Chow is one of Hong Kong’s hottest young feng shui masters.

Man Mo Temple

Got an important exam coming up? Ask for blessings at the Man Mo Temple, built between 1847 and 1862. This place is normally crowded with parents whose children are about to sit for a big test or exam, like Hong Kong’s tough university entrance exam.

The beautiful temple is a tribute to the Chinese God of Literature (Man) and God of War (Mo), and you can find many pictures of it on social media so you know it’s popular. Look for the statue of the Golden Pen within the temple grounds – students, writers, journalists and anyone who writes for a living can touch the pen for some good luck blessings.

Another interesting temple to check out is the Wong Tai Sing Temple, where devotees go to

have their fortunes told using special “fortune telling bamboo sticks”. Fans of Hong Kong films and television series may be familiar with this as there have been many scenes that feature this act.

Flower Market

We probably won’t be buying real flowers when we’re travelling but the Flower Market in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok area is worth a visit.

For Chinese New Year, some of the more popular plants include the peach blossoms (for folks looking for love or to strengthen their relationship); the Chinese sacred lilies or narcissus, for good fortune and prosperity; the nipplefruit, and ornamental and inedible fruit that symbolises unity and harmony in the family (or workplace); and the moth orchid, which is not just beautiful but brings a different meaning for each colour. For example, a white orchid means to strengthen your friendship with someone.

Snacks and more snacks

Obviously, you can find many delicious snacks in Hong Kong – we’ll tell you where to find yummy egg tarts in another story. But Yiu Fung Store is special as it is a family-run business selling mainly candy, that has been around for six decades.

Locals throng to this store during the festive seasons to buy traditional preserved fruits like dried plums, preserved tangerines, candied ginger peel, as well as nuts and seeds.

Upper Lascar Row

This shopping street or alley is also known as “Cat Street”.

Apparently, the place got its nickname from a legend that says this was where people used to go to buy back items that were stolen from them! (Don’t worry, this is not the case today.)

Here you can find rows and rows of shops selling antiques, vintage items, art and other collectible knick-knacks. It’s one of the best places to search for a truly unique souvenir, really.

If you see a calligraphy stall in the alley, get the calligrapher to write you meaningful notes that you can gift to special folks back home.

One of the stores on Cat Street belongs to a young feng shui master and designer named Thierry Chow, who, on the virtual tour, suggests that we place round metal ware like copper bowls on the north side of our home to keep sickness at bay.

Another tip from her is to put a bronze statue of a horse in the southeast corner of our home to increase the chances of travelling. Perhaps we should all start doing this in order to get a safe travel bubble programme started soon...