VIDEO: Wet markets may be stinky and dirty but here’s why we shop at them all the same

Wet markets are one of the idiosyncrasies of Hong Kong that make this major world city feel, in some ways, like a small village. They’re not necessarily as sanitary as we’d like, and wearing open-toed shoes while strolling through one is definitely not recommended. But yet we love them, and Hong Kong people show no sign of stopping their wet market shopping. 

This short video, made by Pasu Au Yeung, explains our wet markets and their continued existence through the lenses of anthropology, economics, and poetry. The markets and the resulting small monetary transactions represent community and the personal relationships that hold us all together.

Who knew wet markets could make us so teary? 

Video/Screenshot: Pasu Au Yeung via Vimeo




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