Hong Kong

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

Jade Market

More Photos
cls223
cls223
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
2
Reviews
3
Photos
Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-2 of 2
Editor Pick

Jade Market

  • May 18, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by sdgates24 from Dallas, Texas
Jade Market

The Jade Market, located on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, is a very popular tourist stop. I normally run like the plague from things like that, but this is just too much fun to miss.

The Jade Market is made up of two open-sided buildings that are packed pull of small stalls and card tables covered in jewelry, antiques and pearls. This is a market where the smart and savvy traveler can find amazing deals, if they can pick their way through the fakes and knockoffs abound. Do yourself a favor and find out how to tell if jade and pearls are real to be sure you get the real deal.

Take our time and stroll through the small stalls, which are packed with goods, and make sure you look through everything. Sometimes, the best things hide under the table or behind smaller objects. Once you see something you like the real fun begins. Everything is negotiable, and money is the international language no matter what language you speak. Some of the vendors to speak a little English but most will negotiate though their calculator. This means that when you point to an item you like they will pull out a calculator and punch in the price and show it to you. Take the calculator and make your counter offer—recommend starting at about 25% of the price they offer. They will looked shocked and start saying "no, no" and will counter offer a small amount lower than their original offer. Stick to your guns and keep your price low—if you hit an impass, don't be afraid to walk away. If you do, then suddenly you will find then willing to haggle down to that low price rather than lose the sale.

To give you an idea of the deals that can be found, I bought a 24" jade necklace made up of large jade beads for about $50—it was just appraised at nearly $3000, due to the size and quality of the jade that is rarely seen in this country. We got similar amazing deals in high quality turquoise, pearls, and Chinese antiques.

From journal Hong Kong - A Vacation Like No Other

Editor Pick

Jade Market

  • April 22, 2001
  • Rated 4 of 5 by cls223 from Chicago, Illinois
The Jade Market was one of my favorite places in Hong Kong. Located down a side street off of Nathan Road, the market is a daily event from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. While I would recommend against buying something costly unless you really know your jade, it's nonetheless a fun place to people-watch and shop for inexpensive gifts. Bargaining for something you want is part of the experience. Some of the vendors speak a little English, but it doesn't matter if they don't: everyone seems to understand the universal "how much?" Sometimes the prices are marked, sometimes not. All the vendors have calculators, which they use to show you the price in Hong Kong dollars. If you say "too much", they will invite you to take the calculator and propose another amount. I generally ended up paying about 10% less than the first price offered. One vendor was a very ancient gentleman who didn't have a calculator. Instead, he used an abacus when figuring out the amount to charge me. Being at a loss with such an item, I countered by writing (in English numbers) the price I wanted to pay. We agreed on an amount and he painstakingly wrote up the transaction in Chinese characters.

From journal Hong Kong and Beyond

Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-2 of 2

Compare Hong Kong Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Hong Kong Travel Deals