If your home is missing that final finishing touch, how about a piece of rare Ming dynasty furniture, an ancient snuff bottle or a Cultural Revolution propaganda poster? Upper Lascar Row – known as Cat Street – is where you can find such treasures, within its fantastic congregation of antique dealers, curio merchants and art galleries. This is also the place to go for bargains in jade, silk products, embroideries and wooden handicraft items.
Indians in the British military were referred to as 'lascars'. Many lascars came to Hong Kong during its early colonial days to work in the police force. A small community of indians grew around Upper Lascar Row, where the police headquarters were located. By the 1920s, the neighbourhood bazaar had evolved into a market for antiques and second-hand items. Later, it became known as a place that sold stolen goods. In Cantonese, stolen items are called 'rat goods' and the people who buy them are called cats - hence its nickname 'Cat Street'.
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