Hong Kong Toy Street

Tai Yuen Street in Wan Chai is a paradise for toy seekers and those who want to relive their childhood memories

Chow Kam-yu, 36, wanders along narrow Tai Yuen Street with her 8-year-old daughter, Hailey. Colourful vendors selling cheap household items and clothes occupy the space on this pedestrianised walkway, but it is the brightly lit shop windows on both pavements that have captured Hailey’s attention.

The little girl jumps up and down, excited to handle the different toys that line the shelves of store after store . Finally, her eyes fix on a small video game console, “Mummmm, I want this!”

“This is the street that I loved the most when I was a kid. It’s like a paradise for young children,” says Chow. “My mum also used to buy me toys here. Time flies. Now I am buying toys for my own kids.”

In the post-war era of the 1950s to 1970s, Hong Kong became a major hub for manufacturing plastic goods and toys, with many factories producing a wide range of products such as dolls, action figures, puzzles, and board games. The city’s strategic location and favorable business environment made it an attractive destination for foreign investors looking to take advantage of low labor costs and high production efficiency.

As a result, Hong Kong became a major exporter of plastic toys to markets all over the world, with many well-known brands producing their products there. The plastic toy industry played a significant role in the city’s economic growth during this period, and it helped establish Hong Kong as a global center for manufacturing and trade.

Tai Yuen Street in Wan Chai, became known for its toys during the 1990s, when a few stores like Yat Sing Toys and Hung Hing Toys first opened. As more and more toy shops opened, it soon became known as “Toy Street”, attracting customers with its great variety of playthings, including retro toys from the 1990s, Japanese Gashapon, Lego, model cars and action figures, and etc.

Tai Yuen Street (Photo/ Karin)

Graffiti that wrote “Tai Yuen Street” (Photo/Karin)

Hung Hing Toys at the Tai Yuen Street(Photo/Karin)

Figures at Hung Hing Toys (Photo/ Karin)

More recently, these stores, like other services in Hong Kong, have taken a strong hit by pandemic restrictions. They are still recovering.

John Fung, the owner of Yat Sing Toys, says his shop barely survived during the pandemic. He said, “All kids stayed at home.We had only five visitors at most per day. People would buy toys online during Covid, but that trend had started even before the pandemic.”

According to data from Statista, offline toy sales in Hong Kong dropped nearly 21% between 2019 and 2023. To cope with this changing consumer behaviour, Fung opened a Yat Sing Toys online store, but sales remain low.

According to the data from Statista, offline toy sales dropped by 15% as of February 2023 compared to the figure in 2019.

To cope with the changing behaviour pattern, Fung opened its Yat Sing online store, but the sales remain tepid.

The street was crowded with visitors on a Saturday afternoon in March 2023. As the border has reopened, Fung expected that the sales would improve with more travellers visiting the store.

“I usually buy one set of Lego a month from the toy street. Lego from here is usually 20% cheaper than other stores,” said a young man with a large box of Lego tucked under his arm in a plastic bag.

For some, Tai Yuen Street is a great place to find a bargain, but for others it is a trip down memory lane.

“Most of our customers are parents and kids, but sometimes there are customers who just want to relive their childhood memories,” said Li Hongbin, a toy shop owner. “Some of the retro-style toys can easily take our customers back to their childhood.”

Chow's Interview

by Chow Kam-yu

Chow said in the recording that taking her dauther to the street of history was somehow nostalgic.

“Here I can still find some of the toys of my era and the memories just flood back,” said Chow. “Though modern toys are much more advanced, I still feel a sense of connection when looking at those ‘boring but classic’ toys.”

As Chow and Hailey exited the toy store, the little girl tore open the packaging, revealing a game console with Pikachu on its back. The mother watched with joy as her daughter held it close to her chest, her eyes lighting up with delight. She then leaned in to give her daughter a hug.