Buy slippers, bird cages and mahjong tiles in Hong Kong

Delve beyond Kowloon’s shopping malls and you’ll find traditional artisans designing authentic keepsakes that are well worth keeping

1 SLIPPERS

Once a status symbol, slippers have been worn in Hong Kong for centuries. Traditionally, women embroidered silk at home with dragons, phoenix and goldfish, or floral patterns such as blossom, which was then shaped into footwear by men. A single pair can take several months to create.

2 JADE

‘Gold has a price, but jade is priceless’, according to a Chinese proverb. Valued by emperors and kept as heirlooms, jade is sourced from the Kunlun Mountains in the north-west of China. The durable gem is believed to bring good luck and prosperity and to ward off ghosts, and it is treasured as a symbol of purity.

3 BIRDCAGES

The practice of keeping birds as pets – and taking them for a walk in their cage – dates back to the Qing dynasty, in the mid 1600s, and remained a popular hobby, particularly among Hong Kong’s elderly male community, into the 1990s. However, laws introduced after the 1997 outbreak of bird flu has killed off demand and today making birdcages is a dying art.

4 PORCELAIN

After the Portuguese established trade routes in the East in the 1500s, hand-painted Cantonese porcelain became popular with Europeans, which resulted in a blend of Western and Chinese designs. Birds, flowers and butterflies were typically painted and transferred on to white porcelain, which was then baked in a kiln.

5 MAHJONG TILES

While the rules of this Chinese game vary, four people usually play mahjong with 136 or 144 tiles, selecting and discarding them until they form four sets and a pair, a little like the Western card game of rummy. Traditionally, bone or ivory tiles were engraved by hand and then painted with red, black, blue or green Chinese characters, numbers and images such as flowers, birds and sticks of bamboo.

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