The Yuen Po bird garden in Prince Edward is a Hong Kong hideaway you’ll only find if you know where to look.
For those wanting to escape the shops and inject a dose of colour and culture into their lives, Yuen Po bird garden is the ideal place to spend an afternoon, although it’s not without its challenges.
The garden is a reincarnation of the old bird market on Hong Lok Street, which was shut down in 1998 as part of the city’s urban gentrification efforts. Not to be deterred, Hong Kong’s bird traders simply switched location.
Within the lively market are exotic bird species, live feed, handmade cages, speciality shops, and all variety of goods for your feathered friend.
The bird park is also a popular hangout place for old gents looking to socialise and to show off their songbird soul mates.
And if you’re lucky you might see the owners feed their birds live insects and other “peculiar” food items. These adored creatures – despite being confined – live pampered lives.
It’s also not unusual for the birds to dwell in decidedly fancy cages. Though fairly simple in terms of construction, some of these handmade creations are practically works of art.
For a price, speciality shops can carve patterns and add ornaments to any cage, which can also be painted in the colour of your choosing. Some are even adorned with gold embellishments to complete the luxury look.
However, like most animal markets in Asia, Yuen Po garden is unlikely to win a PETA awards anytime soon. Most of the birds on sale are kept in less than ideal conditions, with the majority stored in small plastic cages, stacked on top of another, end to end.
This sort of configuration has been described by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as having the greatest “risk of disease transmission between individuals and species, and to people who handle the cages”.
Cockatoos and parrots are either chained or have their primary flight feathers clipped to make sure they can’t escape. A pandemonium of parrots is stuffed into tiny cages, bobbing from one side to the other, tweeting wistfully.
The scene is heart wrenching for animal lovers.
Whatever your feelings about this, the bird garden is always an assault on the senses. The smell is off-putting, and the chirps – exuding from everything from parrots to crickets – deafening.
But the garden shows a side of Hong Kong that many visitors never see. So if you haven’t been there yet, maybe it’s high time you did, if not for birds then for the cultural significance.
How to get there: Exit B1 at Prince Edward MTR Station, walk west along Prince Edward Road towards Mong Kok Stadium.
Photographs by Kevin Dharmawan for Coconuts Hong Kong.
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