page_title: Hawkers in Hong Kong
section_title: 1960–1970s: Increasing numbers
hierarchical_section_title: Hawkers in Hong Kong / History / 1960–1970s: Increasing numbers
caption_attribution_description: English: A night market in Tuen Mun, took in Tuen Mun, 2015
context_page_description: Hawkers in Hong Kong are vendors of street food and inexpensive goods. They are found in urban areas and new towns alike, although certain districts such as Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po, and Kwun Tong are known for high concentrations of hawkers.
  For many decades, hawking has served as a means for the lower class to make a living in Hong Kong, and allowed patrons to benefit from the convenience and low cost of hawker goods. However, the government has long considered the practice to be detrimental to public hygiene, and it has therefore been controlled by the Urban Council and its successor, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
context_section_description: In the 1960s and 70s, at a time when there were few shopping malls and markets and little governmental regulation, the number of hawkers exceeded 300,000. Hawker numbers rose with the unemployment caused by the 1973-74 stock market crash and 1970s energy crisis, which led to factory closures and the decline of the manufacturing sector in Hong Kong.
caption: Hawkers in Tuen Mun in 2015
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