Lan Kwai Fong, Entertainment district in Central, Hong Kong.

Lan Kwai Fong is an L-shaped uphill lane in Central, Hong Kong, with both ends meeting D'Aguilar Street at right angles to form a rectangle. The area also takes in Wo On Lane and Wing Wah Lane, and its bars, clubs and restaurants occupy the surrounding blocks. A street-level venue shows a pink "MARLIN" sign, a dark green awning over an open kitchen and bar, and a white sign pointing left to Lan Kwai Fong.

Before World War II families and marriage brokers lived here in old buildings with wooden stairs. The shift began in 1983 when an entrepreneur from Canada opened the first Western restaurant and others followed.

The name comes from the phrase "lan kwai tang fong" (orchid and cassia spreading fragrance), not from Qing-era merchants. In the 19th century the lane was known as Matchmaker Lane (mui yan hong) for the female matchmakers who worked there. Today the Lan Kwai Fong Association, a non-profit chamber of over 100 businesses, organizes the annual Halloween street party and a November carnival.

The metro station Central is a few minutes on foot and the alleys fill up after office hours in the evening. Weekends get tighter because visitors move between venues and stop on the sidewalks.

Every year at Halloween the streets turn into a large celebration with costumes and crowds so police set up barriers. Since an incident on New Year's Eve 1993 officers watch the flow of people closely.