Did you Know? Hong Kong Pawnshops

Hong Kong Pawnshops

Did you Know? - Hong Kong Pawnshops

On any typical Hong Kong road, you’ll see shop signs, restaurants and emporiums cluttered together. But there’s one particular sight that stands out: an instantly recognisable neon sign, red-bodied with a green border. It looks like an upside-down bat, holding a coin. It is the city-wide indication that the shop below is a pawnshop.

There are pawnshops in most of the city’s 18 districts. Pawnshops are some of the oldest businesses in Hong Kong, dating back more than 200 years. Pawnshops are considered to be a traditional industry in Hong Kong | China. The majority of the shops use names including words meaning harmonious (for example 'tung' (同), 'wo' (和)) and/or prosperous (for example 'chang' (昌), 'fat' (發), 'fung' (豐)). The idea behind such a name is to encourage a flourishing business.