In Cantonese, the character hui (墟) means a periodic market, where people gather at a fixed time, usually every nine to ten days.
Residents travelled on foot within the island and external transport totally relied on sea.
Upon the demolition of Tsing Yi Market, most of shops in the town were relocated to the re-sited villages of Chung Mei and Lo Uk near Sheung Ko Tan.
Shops open on the ground floor of houses and form a market.
The informal Chung Mei Market still operates as of 2006[update] and is busy every early morning.