A total of 15 Chinese New Year fairs across Hong Kong opened on Thursday and will run until Jan 29, with stalls packed with residents shopping for decorations, flowers and other goods.

About 1,500 stalls will offer fresh produce, dry goods and fast-food during the weeklong period, providing consumers with a convenient place to purchase items to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year.

On the opening day, vendors at the city’s largest fair — in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay — were bustling with activity, setting up stalls and drumming up business.

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Similar fairs have been organized in the park for over 60 years, and this year’s edition features 391 goods and wet vendors, and four fast food stalls.

Giant-panda mania hit Hong Kong last year when the city was gifted a pair of pandas by the Chinese mainland and saw the birth of panda twins. The citywide enthusiasm for the “panda economy” is also evident at the fair, with several stalls selling panda-themed goods.

Yung, who would only reveal her surname to China Daily, has a stall offering panda-themed products, and said it was the first time she has attended the fair as a seller, adding that she is confident her stall will catch consumers’ eyes.

While many Hong Kong residents choose to go to Shenzhen for shopping nowadays, Yung said she believes the Victoria Park fair is a unique attraction.

Retiree Ng Chi-ho echoed Yung’s view of the fair. The 72-year-old said visiting Chinese New Year fairs has been his ritual for decades and that he believes the Victoria Park fair provides a shopping experience unlike that of other places.

Ng bought three gladioli plants for HK$60 ($7.7), which he said he thought was cheaper than in previous years. “After taking the flowers home, I’ll come back later today and will definitely come several times during the whole period,” Ng said, adding that he hopes to support the local economy more.

Fong Wan-ching’s stall sells a diverse range of floral species, providing consumers with ample choices with which to decorate their homes.

She said that the prices of flowers this year are generally consistent with those of the past few years, and that her largest transaction during the first half-day had been for over HK$1,000.

Fong, who has participated in the annual fair for about 30 years, said she believes that the market’s strength lies in the rich variety of its products on offer, which satisfies consumers needs.

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Electronic payment methods such as the Faster Payment System and Alipay are available at many of the stalls.

In addition to the Victoria Park fair, other fairs are also open at Tat Tung Road Garden in Tung Chung, Fa Hui Park in Sham Shui Po, Sha Tsui Road Playground in Tsuen Wan, plus 11 other locations.

Police said appropriate traffic arrangements and crowd safety management measures will be implemented depending on the traffic and crowd conditions in the areas where the fairs are being held.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com