Tai Yuen Street Market – Super Cool Toys Street in Wan Chai, Hong Kong

We really enjoyed shopping for toys at Tai Yuen Street during our recent holiday in Hong Kong. This famous “Toy Street” has a huge variety of toys that will appeal to young children, adult toys collectors, and parents shopping for toys on a budget. Also read: 15 Best Night Markets in Hong Kong You Must Visit

Toys at 禮品屋 (see below)

Tai Yuen Street

Tai Yuen Street (also known as “Tai Yuen Street Market” or “Toy Street”) is a small street in Wan Chai famous for its classic toy shops.

Browsing through the shops, we saw many toys ranging from kids stationery and novelty bubble bottles to Marvel and Star Wars figurines to limited edition retro toys and Lego sets.

For adults born in the 1980s or earlier, a stroll down Tai Yuen Street will bring back memories of a time when iPhones had not been invented yet and physical toys were still our main entertainment.

History of Tai Yuen Street

Tai Yuen Street became known for its toys during the 1990s, when a few toy stores like Yat Sing Toys and Hung Hing Toys opened.

In the beginning, the stores only sold a few types of toys like stuffed animals and stationery. Gradually, they added more variety to meet demands and keep up with the latest trends.

By 2006, there were worries about Tai Yuen Street Market’s future because the street was part of the government’s Wan Chai old district development project.

Under the project, all 156 fixed stalls would have to be moved to a new market. Even though permanent stores would not be affected, many toy stores owners felt that Toy Street would not be the same after.

After much protests by the locals, the government ordered for 86 stalls to be relocated, while the rest could remain.

What to Buy at Tai Yuen Street

Character Toys

Kids Stationery

Boys Toys

Older Boys Toys – Tamiya Cars

Anime Figurines

Lego Sets

Vintage Toys

Even though Tai Yuen Street is best known for its toys, there are actually only several main toy shops here. They are located on the left at the beginning of the street, if you’re coming in from Johnston Road.

Nonetheless, we were impressed with the large variety of toys available at Tai Yuen Street!

We found plenty of character toys such as the popular Marvel characters, Thomas trains, Hello Kitty, Barbie, Sofia the First, My Little Pony, Peppa Pig, and more (mention this list to any child below 10 and I guarantee you they will be squealing with excitement).

We also saw conventional kids toys such as kids stationery, water bottles, swimming floats, bath toys, board games, etc.

For the boys, there are fire engines, sports cars, trucks, and police cars. For the older boys, there are model cars and figures.

I was hit with nostalgia when I saw the classic Tamiya Cars, which was one of my favourite childhood toys. (These are mini race cars assembly sets that even come with their own miniature motors).

We also saw many Japanese anime figures, such as Saint Seiya (a super popular anime during the late 1980s), Astro Boy, etc.

If you are interested in vintage Lego sets, then you should head to Hung Hing Toys. We saw whole shelves of classic lego toys here.

And of course, there are many collectibles and figures such as vintage tin robots and Star Wars figurines.

Other than toys, Tai Yuen Street is also a great place for festive items such as Chinese New Year and Christmas decorations. We visited during the Halloween period and saw many Halloween costumes and accessories on sale.

禮品屋 – Our Favourite Toy Shop at Tai Yuen Street!

禮品屋 (literally translated as Gift House) is our favourite toy shop shop because it contains plenty of awesome toys sold at very affordable prices compared to other surrounding shops.

We came here once before in 2013 and was pleasantly surprised to see that the shop has remained largely the same, only with a lot more Marvel toys now.

The shop offers a huge variety of toys such as character toys (Marvel, Naruto, Peppa Pig, Doraemon, My Little Pony, Toy Story, etc), cutesy figurines, bubble bottles, kids stationery, Nerf guns, Tamiya model cars, and more!

We spent about half hour here shopping for toys for our little nieces and nephews, and they were thrilled when we gave it to them.

Do take note that this is a shop with toys best suited for children aged 10 and below. It does not sell any vintage toys or limited edition collectibles.

禮品屋
What to Buy: Character Toys, Cute Figurines, Kids Stationery, Nerf Guns, Tamiya Cars
Address: 22 Tai Yuen St, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 8pm
Phone: +852 2833 5622

Conclusion

We definitely had fun toys-shopping at Tai Yuen Street. Even if you are not planning on buying toys, this is a good place to spend some time browsing around. Who knows, you may even come across a rare collector’s item. For the toy shoppers, have fun and be prepared to haggle the price too!

Tai Yuen Street
What to Buy: Character Toys, Anime Figurines, Collectibles, Retro Toys, Kids Stationery, Festive Decorations
Directions: Two-minute walk from Wan Chai MTR station exit A3
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 7pm (varies between shops)