What Leaving Gift to Get for Someone Departing Hong Kong: A Buyer's Guide
Someone you know is leaving Hong Kong. You want to give them something that holds the city.
Not a skyline snow globe. Not a duty-free bottle of wine. Something that reflects what they actually found here — and what they are leaving behind.
If you are asking what leaving gift to get for someone departing Hong Kong, the short answer is: something specific to this city, made here, that they can take with them and that still means something six months after they've unpacked it. Here is how to find it.
What Leaving Gift to Get: The Question Most People Ask Wrong
Most people approach a leaving gift by thinking about price and convenience. Something around a certain amount, something they can pick up easily. The result is usually generic: a bottle, a card, a gift voucher.
The leaving gift that actually lands is specific. It is about Hong Kong in a way that reflects what the city is beyond its most recognisable image. Not the skyline viewed from the Star Ferry. Not the neon. The version of Hong Kong that surprised them — the trails above the city, the reservoirs, the country parks that most cultural objects never represent.
For a fuller breakdown of what makes a leaving gift work, read Leaving Hong Kong Gifts: The Farewell Present That Actually Means Something.
The Best What-to-Get Answer: Objects That Hold the City
The Iconic Hikes Hong Kong book is one of the most specific Hong Kong leaving gifts available. It covers 26 of the city's most iconic trails through a coffee table book format — not a trail guide, but a cultural object. The kind of book that sits on a shelf in a new city and tells visitors where the owner has been and what they valued about Hong Kong.
The companion trail art prints go further. A large-format print of a specific trail — Dragon's Back, Lion Rock, Bride's Pool, the route they walked on their first full weekend in the city — turns a general Hong Kong gift into a personal one. If you know which trail mattered to them, the print of that specific trail is the most considered leaving gift you can give.
Both the book and the prints are available at stockists across Hong Kong — Bookazine, Kelly & Walsh at Pacific Place, Lion Rock Press, The Peak Tower, and The Mills in Tsuen Wan — and online at hikeshongkong.com with delivery within Hong Kong. For the full list of where to buy, read the guide to local gift shops in Hong Kong.
What Leaving Gift to Get by Relationship and Budget
A close friend leaving Hong Kong (HKD 500 to 900)
The book alone is the gift. If you know which trail they loved, pair it with that trail's art print. The combination is personal in a way that a generic souvenir is not — the specificity signals that you paid attention to what they valued here.
A colleague leaving the team (HKD 300 to 600 per contributor)
For a group gift from the team, the book paired with a large-format A1 or A2 print makes a framed presentation piece that holds its weight. It is the kind of farewell gift that gets hung in the new office or apartment — something substantive rather than symbolic. Read the full guide on farewell gifts for a colleague leaving Hong Kong for the full range of options and what works for different team sizes.
A client or business contact departing Hong Kong (HKD 500 to 1,200)
For a client relationship, the book works well because it is premium, specific to Hong Kong, and appropriate in a professional context. Unlike a restaurant voucher or a bottle of wine, it is a cultural object that reflects well on the giver. For senior relationships and larger budgets, the book and an A1 print together — framed if appropriate — is the strongest option in this category. For the full corporate gifting breakdown, read the corporate gifts Hong Kong guide.
Someone you want to give something personal and lasting (any budget)
The trail print of a specific trail — not a general Hong Kong image, but the exact trail they know — is the most personal gift in this category. If they hiked Lion Rock every weekend, that print. If Bride's Pool was their summer walk, that one. The object holds a specific memory of a specific place in Hong Kong. That is harder to find than any amount of money can simply buy. For a longer reflection on why the trail print lasts, read Meaningful Hong Kong Gift: Why a Trail Print Lasts Longest.
Frequently Asked Questions: What Leaving Gift to Get Hong Kong
What leaving gift do most people get wrong?
Generic gifts: branded merchandise, spa vouchers, wine, department store gift cards. These are not wrong because they are cheap or unconsidered — they often cost more than a specific gift — but because they communicate nothing about Hong Kong or the relationship. The best leaving gifts are specific to the person and the city they are leaving. Those two things combined are what makes a gift memorable.
Where can I find a Hong Kong leaving gift quickly?
Bookazine (IFC Mall, Pacific Place, Times Square), The Peak Tower gift shop, and Kelly & Walsh at Pacific Place all carry the Iconic Hikes Hong Kong book and trail prints. If you are short on time, order online at hikeshongkong.com with delivery within Hong Kong. For a fuller list of where to shop for locally made Hong Kong gifts, read the local gift shops guide.
What leaving gift works for someone who is not a hiker?
The Iconic Hikes Hong Kong book is not a guide for hikers. It is a cultural object — a coffee table book documenting Hong Kong's trails as part of the city's identity. Non-hikers often respond to it more strongly than hikers, because it shows them a side of Hong Kong they may never have seen. The same is true of the trail prints: they work as wall art for anyone who values Hong Kong's landscape, regardless of whether they walked those specific trails.
How much should I spend on a Hong Kong leaving gift?
For a close friend or colleague, HKD 400 to 800 is a comfortable range. For a senior colleague or long-term client, HKD 800 to 1,500 is appropriate. Specificity matters more than budget — a well-chosen gift at HKD 500 lands harder than an expensive generic one. See the gift for someone leaving Hong Kong guide for more detail.
What is unique about Hong Kong as a leaving gift theme?
Most Hong Kong cultural objects represent only the urban face of the city. The trails, the reservoirs, the 40% of the territory that is country park — that side of Hong Kong is almost entirely absent from the gift market. A leaving gift that references what most gifts overlook is, by definition, more considered. Read more on unique Hong Kong souvenirs worth keeping.
For the leaving gift that holds the city: the Iconic Hikes Hong Kong book and trail art prints. Available at stockists across Hong Kong and online at hikeshongkong.com with delivery within Hong Kong.
More from UpKow
- Leaving Hong Kong Gifts: The Farewell Present That Actually Means Something
- Gift for Someone Leaving Hong Kong: The Present That Holds the City
- Farewell Gift for a Colleague Leaving Hong Kong: What to Give When the Team Chips In
- Meaningful Hong Kong Gift: Why a Trail Print Lasts Longest
- Unique Hong Kong Souvenirs: Keepsakes Worth Keeping
- Corporate Gifts Hong Kong: What to Give Clients and Departing Colleagues