Ladder Street, Sheung Wan

I have only spent Chinese New Year in Hong Kong once before, and I was too young to remember. In the build up to the big day, I felt a flutter of excitement every time I left the house and past stands of calligraphers painting good wishes, streets lined with little orange plants and doorways surrounded by bright lanterns. My aunts tell me “it’s not the same anymore, it’s so commercial these days, many of the old traditions have been lost”. Walking past the 10 dollar shop (the 80p shop) filled with various red clothing items adorned with cutesy bunny rabbits, and yet another political party dressed in costume surrounded by suited men shouting propaganda through megaphones, I hoped that not all had been lost.