At Citygate Outlets – located right next to Tung Chung MTR station and within striking distance of Hong Kong airport, both prices and options are excellent.
Most of the stores are international brands, such as Timberland, Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nike and the British style icon Laura Ashley. The whole of the 10th floor is devoted to shoes and accessories, with Crocs and Le Saunda both proving popular.
There's also a small cinema attached to the mall, and the synchronized fountains in the plaza outside Citygate attract large crowds of spectators. The outlets are especially popular with tour groups from Mainland China.
All in all, there are about 90 stores here, including Hong Kong's landmark electronics outlet: Fortress.
Citygate Outlets features discounts of up to 70 percent — Photo courtesy of Citygate Outlets
One of the reasons Citygate is so popular is because of its very reasonable prices, which follow on from cheaper rents due to the mall's out-of-town location. The mall is spread over several levels, with the lowest given over to a supermarket that's a big hit with shoppers keen on stocking up on foodstuffs that they can't get in their home country.
One of Citygate's chief characteristics is that it's pretty relaxed. A large coffee shop – Pacific Coffee – is set more or less in the middle of the mall, flooded with light from floor-to-ceiling windows; it's a popular spot to sit and take a break from the retail brouhaha.
Anyone fancying a full meal need only pop into the Novotel, which is joined to the mall; its weekend buffet is good enough to attract diners from all over Hong Kong.
Not all Citygate stores are designer outlets: offerings include a very good bookshop called Dymocks, which stocks a small range of Hong Kong souvenirs, as well as postcards, calendars and the like.
Best of all, Citygate is easy to get to. The MTR line runs into town, and the airport is only a few minutes away by bus. A lot of travelers make Citygate their last port of call, while others who are more shopping minded make it the first place they visit once they've cleared immigration.
It's worth noting that Citygate is only a short way from Hong Kong's Disneyland, and, in the opposite direction, the cable car leading to Po Lin monastery.
Family groups often divide here, with one parent tasked to shop and the other to entertain the siblings, which is very often a highly satisfactory arrangement for all concerned.
