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Everyday in mid-night, the Dawn Market in Tung Chau Street becomes a dynamic "super market". After a few visits, what I can find there?

1. People without home

2. People without love

3. Eyes with hope

4. GOODs

5. Sound

The Dawn Market I visited is located in Tung Chau Street in Sham Shui Po, where it is home for the street-sleepers.I wonder where were their families. The name "street-sleeper" seems to distinguish them from people who live with families. Sometimes, people may treat them as beggars rather than street-sleepers. They will not care their lives and what they wear, because they will not even willing to spend their time to pay close attention to the anonymous person. Do they only have the equal status with the lower-class society?

When I asked people whether they have heard of The Dawn Market. The answer is usually "no". Actually I have heard it before, but I have never imagined that what is it looked like. I tried to understand it through internet before going there. However it is totally different from what I have imagined:

After a few visits in the market I realize that people who are lonely will go there, not only the lower-class people. I met an old lady in the Dawn Market. She brought her cloth from home to the market for selling everyday at 4:00a.m. The sellers in the Dawn Market called her "the wealthy woman" because she lived in luxurious house state with family members and house workers. She was not lacking of money and daily necessaries but family love. I talked with her and she smiled.  I believe that she was sick with loneliness. Besides, the Dawn Market is a place for people living / working there to seek for sense of belongings of their life, no matter who they are.


There are variety of goods in the market. They are 2nd handed goods collected by the hawkers there. Most of the people in the Dawn Market, no matter buyers or sellers, are live under poverty. However,they have more or less the same expectation, that is to improve lives within their ability. For people who live with confortable environment and adequate food will not understand their feelings and needs. They rarely wear smile on their face but with hope in their eyes. Although their goods for sell are cheap, the little amount of money within the 3 hours is already able to offer them 3 meals.  

How do people value the importance of things? I could find / buy good goods there. They are "good" because they are still valuable to somebody / somewhere. Why did people giveup them easily while they are still usable and new? The only reason that I can think of is the limited living space in Hong Kong physically and the not fulfilled material incentive mentality.

The word "dawn" from a dictionary means "the period in the day when light from the sun begins to appear in the sky". The name comes from the working period of the hawkers there, from almost 4:00a.m to 7:ooa.m. It is because they are afraid of being arrested by the police. The name "Dawn Market" is like having a joke with the people owing their lives there.

I record the sound in the market everytime during the visit. What I hear is the realistic lives of the minority.


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On 26th March, I had my 1st visit in the Dawn Market in my birthday. Actually I was afraid that it might be so late for me to start the confirmed idea since I will have to hand in the Honor Project Documentation without half a month. However the experience is so impressive and true to me. I was very delightful that I was accompanied with my families that day.

There is a big contradiction between people living in the globe.

http://www.soco.org.hk/homeless2/e.htm