At their peak in the late 2000s, Chan told Rest of World, there were more than 500 internet cafes in Hong Kong.īut business gradually waned in the 2010s. Alfred Chan, owner of Hong Kong’s biggest internet cafe chain, i-ONE, recalled how one cafe enticed customers with unlimited pineapple buns - a Hong Kong bakery signature. The industry became so big that cafes started competing directly with one another. ![]() Groups of friends gathered to play Counter-Strike, Rainbow 6, and Audition Online. When the city’s internet cafe industry picked up around the year 2000, it catered primarily to a growing number of gamers who were unable to afford their own rigs. ![]() The high-speed, affordable internet in Hong Kong means people don’t usually turn to cafes to go online. ![]() In Hong Kong, a city with excellent internet coverage but extremely cramped housing, internet cafes have long been a refuge - for teenage gamers running away from scolding parents, delivery workers on a break, and couples looking for a cheap but fun date.įor the equivalent of less than $10, they can spend hours or whole nights in dimly lit, air-conditioned rooms playing video games, watching movies, indulging in bowls of instant noodles, or falling asleep to the sounds of clicking mice and tapping keyboards.
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