Another popular area is the fruit wholesale market on Waterloo Road and the Jade Market on Canton Road. There are also many roadside stalls for palm reading and family businesses. The Yau Ma Tei Theatre, adjacent to the fruit wholesale market, had a long history in Hong Kong but was closed a few years ago for redevelopment. In the early 1980s it switched from main stream cinema to showing blue films and was the largest adult film cinema in Hong Kong. Yau Ma Tei mainly consists of the area west of Nathan Road, from Shanghai Street to Ferry Street.
Buildings are old, low-density and there are a lot of night clubs and mahjong parlours.
Yau Ma Tei has mainly post-World War II apartments in a dilapidated condition. Some are close to 50 years old, but most are about 30 years old. Apartments range from 300 to 1,400 square feet. Prosperous Gardens, a Housing Authority private development project, is the only housing estate in Yau Ma Tei. It consists of five, 29-storey blocks, comprising 1,600 units.