Sheung Wan begins pretty much west of Jubilee Street, and though modern development has torn out many of the old lanes and their street vendors, a few - such as Wing Kut Street and Man Wa Lane - survive, and are full of stalls hawking calligraphy brushes, clothes and carved name stamps or “chops”.

Sheung Wan’s most distinctive structure is the massive Shun Tak Centre; down at the waterfront on Connaught Road, its twin towers are encased in a distinctive red framework and house the Macau Ferry Terminal. Opposite is the Western Market (daily 10am- 7pm), whose fine Edwardian brick-and ironwork shell houses two floors of fabric shops. For a typical Chinese produce market - involving vast amounts of fruit, vegetables, and freshly slaughtered meat - try Sheung Wan Market on Morrison Street; the second floor is a mass of stalls (daily 6am-2am) serving all sorts of light snacks.

The streets due west of here provide glimpses of the trades and industries that date back to Hong Kong’s settlement. Many shops on Wing Lok Street and Bonham Strand specialize in bird’s nest and ginseng: the nests are used to make bird nest soup, a gastronomic speciality said to promote longevity; as the nest is tasteless, however, the dish’s quality rests in the soup itself. Ginseng, the root of a plant found in Southeast Asia and North America, is prescribed for a whole host of problems, from reviving mental faculties in the aged, to curing impotence - some of the larger ginseng trading companies have venerable interiors decked out in teak and glass panels.

Many shops in Ko Shing Street are dedicated wholesalers, selling traditional Chinese medicines such as deer antlers, crushed pearls, dried seahorses and assorted herbalists’ paraphernalia. Others lean towards kitchen supplies with their piles of dried mushrooms, salted and preserved fish, dried squid, oysters, sea slugs, scallops and seaweed.