Dried seafood is widely used in Chinese cuisine and medicine. Much of it, such as dried scallops, sea cucumbers and abalone, is considered a delicacy. Just about every kind of dried seafood imaginable can be found on and around Dried Seafood Street in Sheung Wan, just west of Central.

    Hong Kong developed first and foremost as a trading hub and gateway to China. As a result, shops selling similar products clustered around each other to link wholesalers with shop owners and buyers. Hollywood Road, also known as 'Antiques Street', is the best known example of this, and Dried Seafood Street is another. In the beginning of the 20th century, stores selling salted fish and dried seafood set up shop around Connaught Road West and Des Voeux Road West and established a Salted Fish Wholesale Market. Since then, this little local attraction has inadvertently become a must-see stop for tourists because it gives an authentic glimpse of local Chinese daily life.

    Dried Seafood Street is sandwiched into a whole neighbourhood specialising in dried goods. Just around the corner are Herbal Medicine Street and Bird's Nest and Ginseng Street. In fact, Dried Seafood Street isn't just one single street; it is more like a market area. You know you're walking in the right direction when your nose tips you off, quickly learning that the potent Dried Seafood Street has earned its name.

    All along Wing Lok Street and Des Voeux Road West from Queen Street to Centre Street, shop after shop is crowded with various kinds of dried seafood. In the mornings, shopkeepers unload new arrivals from a tide of delivery trucks. Items that still need to be dried are simply left to bake in the sun in any available spot. It is not uncommon to see expensive sea cucumbers in baskets on top of tram stops or controversial sharks' fins on tarps along sidewalks. Inside the shops, boxes and jars are filled with enormous amounts of dried seafood to entice customers to choose one seller over another. It is quite a sight to see.

    To find Dried Seafood Street, take the MTR to Sheung Wan, and then take exit A1 to Des Voeux Road West and Wing Lok Street. From Central, it is an easy walk or tram ride along Des Voeux Road.