Halloween has been steadily growing in popularity in Hong Kong over the last five years. As opposed to simply watching American expats celebrate – as was once the case, Hong Kong people have adapted the holiday as if it were their own. This is true primarily for several reasons. Hong Kong loves a good scare. Local box office records for example, were smashed by The Ring, the Japanese horror film. Hong Kong people love candy. I don’t know why, but it’s part of the diet. And wearing costumes and taking photos is a rare, but favorite pastime. Combine these factors together and you have an occasion tailor made for this city!

Halloween is going to continue to gain in popularity. Why? Because you can see parents dressing their kids up in costumes and bringing them through Lan Kwai Fong – the epicenter of the celebration. These kids are going to remember this as a fun time and thus begins the tradition.

Local supermarket chains are helping to stir interest in Halloween. This year, the supermarkets Park N Shop and City Super both featured multiple Halloween displays.

Halloween outfits and assorted ephemera on sale at Park N Shop.

City Super in Times Square shopping center.

Toys R Us in Causeway Bay

The old stone steps of Pottinger Street in Central feature several stalls as well as shops stocked with masks, wigs, and costume accessories.

Instead of just reporting on Halloween, like I did last year, I opted to join the festivities this time around. A few weeks earlier, sitting in Tsui Wah, a popular Hong Kong style diner, my friend Alex suggested that we dress up in the uniform of the restaurant’s waiters for Halloween. The idea was an immediate hit with all of us, and I set about planning how to recreate their outfit. Combing through various wholesaler neighborhoods, I scored the necessary ingredients: bright yellow polo shirts and navy blue aprons. I topped it off with a custom screen-print that made it perfect. This is a costume that Hong Kong locals would appreciate since Tsui Wah is a common last stop for late night snacks. The chain has branches in Central, Causeway Bay, and Jordan. I made ten copies of the uniform so that my friends and I could go in a big group – for added dramatic effect!

We started off the night at Racks, then walked through the massive crowd around Lan Kwai Fong. We stopped up at Dragon-i which was hosting a school uniform party. The main characters normally at D.I. had excellent uniforms, however, it seemed that more people were showing up this year without costumes, which kind of changed the mood. Afterwards we headed down to a party at Prive which featured DJ Camilo from Hot 97 in New York. After a while there, half of the group retreated back to Racks. Four of us continued on to Qube, then back to Dragon-i. Next we got split up again and ended up back at Racks for a few hours. Later I went to Club Beijing, and then ended the night at Volar.

Racks was the most insane spot I visited on Halloween. Not only were the costumes good, but the people were in rare form. Here are some photos.

At the end of the night, two of the original crew of ten went to Tsui Wah in their costumes. The outfits were a big hit with the staff and the owner, who came over to take photos with them and even gave them an employee discount on their bill!!! Wish I was there!

Check out photos from Halloween 2006 and 2005.