Speaker
Description
Wet markets are integral components of everyday life and culture in Hong Kong. Documenting and understanding the sensory environment of wet markets can better support their protection and management as intangible cultural heritage. Using a soundwalk method, this study provides a baseline assessment of the soundscape of Shek Kip Mei Market in Hong Kong, examining and comparing its environmental quality and people’s experiences. Two soundwalk sessions were conducted at separate time points across eight stall locations in this market, with acoustic measurements taken and on-site questionnaire ratings (n = 96) of soundscape quality collected from six participants assigned to the sound-related role. The results suggested that (1) human voices and fan noise were the dominant sound source types in Shek Kip Mei Market; (2) human voices were positively associated with pleasantness and eventfulness; and (3) pleasantness and eventfulness ratings were similar across the two walks, while agreement for individual sound-source ratings was generally lower. We discuss Shek Kip Mei Market’s soundscape characteristics and outline future research on multisensory environmental perception in Hong Kong, including soundscape and smellscape. The findings provide baseline insights into the research and practical management of Hong Kong wet markets.