CANTON ROAD IN KOWLOON

One of my acquaintances is heading over to Hong Kong for the fabulous shopping. Now, silly me, I assumed -- because she is somewhat educated (Stanford) and has good taste -- that she intended to go browsing for antiques on Hollywood Road (荷李活道 'ho lei wut dou') on Hong Kong Island (香港島 'heung gong dou').

I could not have been more wrong.


She isn't interested in Jun glazes (鈞泑), Ding porcelain (定瓷), Ru ware (汝窯), Guan (官窯), Ge ware (哥窯) from Chekiang (浙江), Celadon (青磁), 建陽窯, or Ming Era (明代) blue-and white (青花瓷).

The entire oeuvre of  Jing De Zhen (景德鎮) tickles her not in the slightest.

[Jun ware (鈞窯): a distinct blue celadon-type with opalescence caused by variations in the kiln-temperature during a slow heating-up and gradual cooling-off period in the firing, allowing the glaze to remain viscous for a long time. As with Celadon, there is iron in the material, which gives the blueish hues, and often traces of copper which render purplish streaks.
Ding porcelain (定瓷): Ivory or cream-hued products famous from the Tang Dynasty onwards.
Ru ware (汝窯): Beautiful pale blue crackly glaze with hue variations. The iron oxide in the glaze becomes greenish and blueish when fired in a reducing atmosphere. Ru wares vary from off-white to beautiful pale blues, with brownish crackling due to the different expansion rates of the body and the glaze.
Guan ware (官窯): Thin-walled thick glazed porcelains made under court supervision from the Sung Dynasty, more particularly Southern Sung. The body is brown or greyish brown, the luminescent glaze itself a velvety enamelesque with bold crackles, in shades of white, off-yellow, faint greens, or pale pale blues.
Ge ware (哥窯): Related to Guan ware, and developed during late Song - early Yuan. Jing De Zhen. Both crackled blueish-glazed ware and yellowish glaze with bold dark crackles interspersed with lighter reddish hairlines.
Celadon (青磁):The famous greenish - blueish - yellow-brownish hue range is because of iron oxides, the reduction firing makes it crackly. This was most famously manufactured at the Long Guan kilns (Longguan: 龍泉) in Chitkong province (Zhejiang: 浙江), which is south of Shanghai. It was also produced at King Tak Chan (Jingdezhen: 景徳鎮), as well as in Korea and Japan. It is still made in all those places.
Blue and white wares (青花): White porcelain with cobalt oxide decorative patterns sealed-in by a clear glaze. The blue pigment was usually somewhat impure, which added character and a glowing quality, especially with faint bleeding past the lines during firing.]


No, she doesn't even know what rabbits' fur, oil spot, or imperial yellow are. Those must be fuddy-duddy things, yes?

[Rabbit's fur (兔毫): Often called 'partridge pattern glaze' (鹧鸪斑釉), these are usually black or dark brown (黑釉) tea-bowls (茶碗) from the Kienyang kiln (建陽窯黑釉) created during the Sung Dynasty, with striations and streaks like partridge feathers (鹧鸪羽毛) caused by iron oxide "curdling" in the glaze during firing. Prized variations include greyish rabbit fur (灰兔毫), yellow rabbit fur (黃兔毫), silver rabbit fur (銀兔毫), and gold rabbit fur (金兔毫).
Oil-spot (油點瓷 or 天目釉) is technically a variation of rabbit's fur, in which the glaze is applied thickly, and as the red iron oxide molecules release oxygen they head to the surface, where the oxygen escapes and traces of iron are left, creating spots. Really thick glazes require a higher proportion of feldspar to stiffen so that they do not run and fuse the ceramic objects to the surfaces within the kiln on which they were placed. At extremely high temperatures, the glaze flows down, creating the rabbit fur effect; naturally these products will have a relatively thin glaze compared to oil-spot, and often the foot is comparatively tall and bare.
Imperial yellow, aka mustard yellow enamel (黄搪瓷): In Chinese the various constituents are not differentiated, but you should know that so-called 'imperial yellow' is lead-antimonate -- three parts lead oxide, one part powdered quartz, plus oxides and binders -- fired at a lower temperature than porcelain glazes, and hence not safe for food service. But the result is beautiful, and vessels with an interior free of the enamel (in other words with a white porcelainous glaze) should be safe. Often called 'soft yellow' (嬌黄).]


What does this woman seek in Hong Kong?

Chanel, Gucci, Hermès, Prada, Tiffany, and Vuitton!

All of these are products unknown to the treasure fleets that travelled from Europe to the emporium of the world for four centuries.

Personally, I think she's nuts.


CANTON ROAD 廣東道

The insanity starts almost as soon as you disembark from the Star Ferry on the mainland side. The first stretch of Canton Road consists of hotels and grand complexes, with Tiffany and Cartier immediately opposite the Grand Ocean, followed by Brequet, Piaget, van Cleef & Arpels, and Mont Blanc (pens! writing equipment!) opposite the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel. There's a Lane Crawford just up a bit, next to the Marco Polo, then Hermès, Gucci, and Coco Chanel.
Dior is at the corner of Peking Road (北京道 'pak keng dou').

[Chanel is in Harbour City, and also on Nathan Road. Besides being in the Sun Plaza on Canton Road, Gucci is in the Harbour City complex.  Hermès is located all over, being at the airport, in the Harbour City complex, in the Peninsula Hotel, and three different spots on Hong Kong Island. Prada is also in Harbour City as well as the Peninsula.]

Louis Vuitton has an establishment on the left, street-level of the Harbour City mall (海港城), opposite Emperor Watch and Jewelry (英皇鐘錶珠寳), which is a must-visit. It's adjacent to Omega and Puyi Optical (溥儀眼鏡), Swarovski is right next to that.
Ralph Lauren is just across the alleyway.

[Consider for a moment the sense of humour required to name a spectacle store (Puyi Optical) after a man whose unprepossessing visage was graced by round bottle-bottom lenses, and who was not known for perspicacity or any remarkable brilliance.]

Swarovski is overpriced, but you already knew that.

DKNY is nearby. I have no idea what they sell, or who they are. They appeared out of nowhere in the past decade or so, and seem to be an upscale version of Hollister for young spendthrifts.
I am not sure, and I do not want to know.
There is no need.

The Armani Exchange is on the right-hand side at the corner of Haiphong Road (海防道), opposite Dolce & Gabbani.

The entrance to the Sun Arcade (新太陽廣場) is a few paces up.

Once you pass Gateway Boulevard (港城大道) on the left, you are in front of China Hong Kong City (中港城) with even more fab shopping.

When you get to Li Fung Tower (利豐大厦) at the northern end of China Hong Kong City, Canton Road pretty much peters out. You might want to head over to the Peninsula Hotel (半島酒店) where there are some more nice stores, and an opportunity to take afternoon tea. It's not far, only three blocks over on Salisbury Road (梳士巴利道) along the waterfront.

Walking is good for you.


I myself cannot imagine wanting to spend any time on the lower end of Canton Road, as there is nothing there that I need, want, or even like. Other than Mont Blanc pens. But if you are a typical nouveau riche Philippina, this is probably as close to heaven as you can get.....
Outside of Makati.

Many women consider shopping a version of therapy.
Men usually need therapy afterwards.
Food for thought.




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