Hong Kong - Mong Kok (HK-3459)

Here's my first card from Hong Kong! :) Receiving cards from new countries or territories as officials is the most exciting for me, because it's always so unexpected :) Hong Kong was already included in the number of countries and territories that I have postcard from I told you last week, so it's still 68 :) I'm expecting a card from one more country, but who knows, maybe I'll get so nicely surprised by another official again? :)

This card shows the entrance to Ladies' market in Mong Kok area. It's one of the most popular night markets of Kowloon (it's a peninsula and urban area in Hong Kong) , where one can buy almost everything from exotic lingerie to sophisticated electronics. My first thought about this card was that these crowded streets are something very typical for Hong Kong (the skyscrapers and crowd are the first things that come into my mind when I think of this territory). Today I was googling for some more information about the Mong Kok area and I learned that it was the place with highest population denesity in the world! 130 000 people per km2 - can you imagine that?!

HK-3459

Mong Kok or Mongkok (Chinese: 旺角; the English name is a transliteration of its older name 望角 or 芒角 which is pronounced "Mong Gok". Its present Chinese name "旺角" is pronounced "Wong Gok") is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong, China.

The name in Chinese means "flourishing/busy corner". Recent road works revealed some antique potteries, indicating that there might be settlements that early as Jin Dynasty (265-420).

The district is characterized by a mixture of old and new multi-story buildings, with shops and restaurants at street level and commercial or residential units above. Major industries in Mong Kok are retail, restaurants (including fast food) and entertainment.