Best Books About Hong Kong to Read Before You Visit

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There’s something deeply satisfying about reading stories set in the place you’re about to explore (or are exploring).

These twelve books about Hong Kong will transport you through time, across districts, into the minds of spies, expats, artists, and everyday locals.

In this best of list, I’ve included my favourite fiction, non-fiction, memoir, crime and even a touch of political drama.

Sneak Peek: My top three Hong Kong book recommendations are: The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee (fiction); Gweilo, Memoir of a Hong Kong Childhood by Martin Booth (memoir); and Never Enough by Joe McGinniss (true crime).

But don’t let my top three recommendations limit you, I’ve included nine other Hong Kong books that might be more your style.

Why Read Books About Hong Kong Before You Visit?

Hong Kong is one of those cities that makes much more sense once you understand its history.

Colonial Britain, Cantonese culture, global finance, neon street life. It’s a place where many different worlds overlap.

Reading a few books about Hong Kong before your trip can help you understand:

• why the city feels both Chinese and international
• the legacy of the 1997 handover
• the layers of colonial and local history
• the culture behind everyday street life

Some travellers like fiction set in the city. Others prefer memoirs or history books.

Below are some of the best books about Hong Kong to help you understand the city before you arrive.

If you’re still trying to understand the background, read my guide to what makes Hong Kong different from mainland China and my overview of Hong Kong’s history before your trip.

1. Gweilo: Memories Of A Hong Kong Childhood by Martin Booth

📚 Memoir
This is probably the Hong Kong book I recommend most often.

Martin Booth grew up in Hong Kong in the 1950s, and his descriptions of street life, food stalls, neighbourhoods, colonial culture, and childhood freedom are incredible.

You get a version of Hong Kong that barely exists anymore: rooftop shanties, dai pai dongs, chaotic alleyways, sampans in the harbour, and a city still rebuilding itself after war.

I loved Gweilo, Memoir of a Hong Kong childhood. As someone who grew up in Hong Kong around the same age, I can totally relate to the author’s account, even though his experience was a few decades earlier than mine.

If you want to understand the emotional pull Hong Kong has on many people, start here.

Best for:

• readers who enjoy memoirs and nostalgia
• first-time visitors
• understanding old Hong Kong

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2. The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee

📚 Fiction
Set among Hong Kong’s elite expat circles, this novel follows three women, each with her own secrets and losses, as their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Full of emotional twists and the tension of privilege, parenting, and personal identity.

I loved The Expatriates. As a former expat myself, the book rings true about expat life in Hong Kong. I highly recommend it as one of my top Hong Kong Books.

If you saw the mini-series (which wasn’t very good), don’t let that put you off the book because the book is 1000x better.

If you want to stay on Hong Kong Island or curious about the international side of the city, this gives you an interesting perspective.

Best for:

• modern Hong Kong
• women’s fiction
• understanding affluent expat culture

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3. The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry

📚 Historical Fiction
A WWII-era tragedy haunts a girl decades later in colonial Hong Kong. Combining family secrets with ghostly folklore, this novel balances lyrical prose with dark twists.

Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, the Waterstones Book Circle Award and the Desmond Elliott Prize.

I loved The Hungry Ghosts. It’s one my favourite Hong Kong books, and I highly recommend it.

Best for:

• readers who enjoy atmospheric historical fiction with a darker edge
• travellers curious about colonial-era Hong Kong beyond the glossy postcard version
• people who love family secrets, folklore, and emotionally layered storytelling

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4. Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester

📚 Historical Fiction
This novel follows several characters across decades of Hong Kong history, from colonial power to local struggle to financial ambition.

The city itself almost becomes the main character.

Fragrant Harbour is one of the best books for understanding how dramatically Hong Kong transformed during the 20th century.

Best for:

• readers who love big sweeping historical novels
• understanding colonial Hong Kong
• people who want a “city through time” story

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5. The Hong Kong Diaries by Chris Patten

📚 Memoir / Political History
Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, offers an insider’s account of the political drama leading up to the 1997 handover. Both personal and political, this is a front-row seat to history.

The Hong Kong Diaries gives a fascinating insider perspective on the final years of British rule and the political tension surrounding the transition.

If you want to understand modern Hong Kong, this candid and thoughtful memoir is worth reading.

Best for:

• political history
• understanding the 1997 handover
• readers curious about modern Hong Kong identity

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6. Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah

📚 Memoir
This memoir is emotional, painful, and incredibly readable.

Although it moves between China and Hong Kong, it gives useful insight into family expectations, identity, education, and class within Chinese culture.

You’ll probably finish Falling Leaves in a couple of days.

Best for:

• memoir readers
• family stories
• understanding Chinese family culture

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7. Diamond Hill by Feng Chi-shun

📚 Memoir
This memoir offers a side of Hong Kong most tourists never see.

Diamond Hill describes growing up in a squatter settlement in post-war Hong Kong with honesty, humour, and zero romanticising.

If you want to understand how quickly Hong Kong transformed economically within a single generation, this is an eye-opening read.

Best for:

• social history
• readers interested in ordinary daily life
• understanding post-war Hong Kong poverty

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8. Never Enough by Joe McGinniss

📚 True Crime
I’m a sucker for a good true crime book, and Never Enough did not disappoint. This chilling story follows the infamous Nancy Kissel case. A tale of murder, manipulation, and betrayal that unravels across both the U.S. and Hong Kong.

With its dark twists and high-society drama, you’re in for a gripping, unforgettable read.

Beyond the crime itself, it gives an interesting look into elite expat culture and the pressure-cooker lifestyle many high-flying professionals lived in during that era.

Best for:

• true crime readers
• expat intrigue
• people fascinated by high-society scandals

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9. Tai-Pan by James Clavell

📚 Historical Epic
Set during the founding of colonial Hong Kong, it’s packed with traders, pirates, politics, ambition, and power struggles.

Tai-Pan is dramatic, occasionally over-the-top, but hugely influential in shaping how many Western readers imagined early Hong Kong.

This is a massive book, but if you enjoy historical sagas, it’s worth the effort.

Best for:

• epic historical fiction fans
• colonial trade history
• long immersive reads

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10. Fortune’s Bazaar by Vaudine England

📚 History / Biography
This is one of the most interesting Hong Kong history books I’ve read.

Instead of focusing only on British governors and famous businessmen, it explores the traders, migrants, entrepreneurs, and communities who collectively built Hong Kong.

It makes the city feel far more layered and international than the simplified “East meets West” cliché.

A deep dive into the multicultural forces that built Hong Kong, from Armenian traders to Chinese matriarchs. Inclusive and rigorously researched.

If you’re into people-focused history with a global lens, Fortune’s Bazaar is a gem.

Best for:

• history lovers
• readers interested in multicultural Hong Kong
• understanding how Hong Kong became global

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11. Shop Cats of Hong Kong by Marcel Heijnen

📚 Photography / Culture
This one is pure joy.

It’s a photography book featuring the cats that live inside Hong Kong’s old local shops, workshops, markets, and businesses.

Oddly enough, Shop Cats also captures a disappearing side of the city because many of the traditional shops featured no longer exist.

If you wander through older districts like Sham Shui Po or Sheung Wan, you’ll still occasionally spot these shop cats sleeping peacefully among the chaos.

Rather than ordering this online, I’d actually recommend picking it up from one of Hong Kong’s independent bookstores during your trip.

Rather than order it online, I would get it when you’re in the city at one of the Hong Kong bookshops like TasChen which is in Tai Kwun.

Best for:

• quirky Hong Kong culture
• coffee table book lovers
• cat people

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12. Hong Kong Shifts by Maxime Vanhollebeke

📚 Photography / Nonfiction
This is a beautiful photography book documenting the workers who keep Hong Kong running.

Street sweepers. Mechanics. Delivery workers. Small shop owners.

It captures the human side of the city incredibly well.

This would make an excellent souvenir to buy while you’re actually in Hong Kong. I’ve seen it for sale in the TasChen bookstore in Tai Kwun.

Best for:

• photography lovers
• people curious about everyday Hong Kong life
• visual travellers

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Explore the Hong Kong Locations Behind These Books

Many of these books are set in real places across Hong Kong. If you enjoy reading about the city before your trip, you can also visit some of the neighbourhoods that appear in these stories.

Here are a few examples.

Central and Sheung Wan

Several expat novels and political stories take place in Hong Kong’s historic financial district. Today this area is still one of the best places to explore colonial architecture, traditional medicine shops, and hidden temples.

If you want to explore this area properly, read my walking guide to Central.

Victoria Harbour and Tsim Sha Tsui

Books like Gweilo and Fragrant Harbour describe life along the harbourfront during different eras of Hong Kong history.

Walking along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront today still gives you that sense of the city’s maritime past.

If you want to experience the skyline views for yourself, here’s my guide to the best things to do in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Diamond Hill

Both Diamond Hill novels capture a neighbourhood that has changed dramatically over time.

The area was once known for squatter settlements but today is home to one of Hong Kong’s most beautiful temples.

You can visit the peaceful Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden today.

If you want ideas beyond the guidebooks, read my posts on:

• what makes Hong Kong so unique
• Hong Kong’s history before your trip
• what makes Hong Kong different from China
• whether Hong Kong is still worth visiting

Final Thoughts on the Best Hong Kong Books

The best Hong Kong books don’t just help you plan a trip.

They help you understand why people become emotionally attached to this city.

Hong Kong is complicated. Messy. Contradictory. Sometimes exhausting. Sometimes magical.

But once you understand the layers beneath it, the experience of visiting becomes much richer.

And there’s something very satisfying about reading a chapter about the Star Ferry while actually crossing Victoria Harbour on it.

And once you’re ready to turn the page from planning to packing, check out the best season to visit Hong Kong (spoiler: autumn is magic) and how long to stay to make the most of your adventure.