hong kong graffiti, 2023–24

I haven’t discovered any major new graffiti locations during my most recent sojourn in Hong Kong, but I have found new examples in old locations, especially in Fanling’s industrial zone. Unfortunately, much of what I’m recording in this post has already been painted over or washed off in a kind of reverse vandalism.

Just a day or two after returning to Hong Kong in October, I made a point of checking out the two subways that connect the residential area of Luen Wo Hui on the north side of Sha Tau Kok Road with the industrial area, because I’d seen quite a lot of graffiti on the walls of the exit ramps on the industrial side in the past. This is what I found:

The first image was painted on the wall of the side exit ramp of the more easterly of the two subways, while the second image was painted on the side wall of the straight-ahead exit ramp of the more westerly subway. Obviously, the two tags are identical, indicating that they were executed by the same person. The second image was soon washed off, but curiously, the first image survived for many more weeks before suffering the same fate.

I found just one new example of ‘FUK1’, which was in a different style to earlier examples:

This photo shows its location relative to that of the first tag above, which was located at the bottom of the ramp:

It too has subsequently been washed off. This wall was once covered in graffiti, from top to bottom.

The next four graffiti were discovered on the walls of an underpass on the Drainage Services access road that runs alongside the Shek Sheung River:

They don’t reflect the styles of anything else I’ve photographed in the past, which may be due to the fact that this access road was located in the so-called ‘frontier closed area’ until 2013, and I suspect that not many people pass this way even now, making it much less likely that graffiti here will be quickly removed.

The next five graffiti were found on the wall that a few years ago was the scene of the most impressive graffiti that I’ve recorded in Hong Kong (see Physical Graffiti):

Although these three tags are stylistically similar, two have different signatures. I’ve seen ‘XEME’ before in other locations. The next two are almost certainly by the same artist. The colour schemes are similar, and the signature, ‘HBS’, is the same:

The next graffito is the only one I’ve seen on the walls of a subway crossing Sha Tau Kok Road on the residential side:

It still hasn’t been scrubbed off after several months.

This graffito appeared on the wall of an industrial building on Sha Tau Kok Road just last month:

I spotted these graffiti during one of my rare visits to Kowloon. I doubt that I could find the location again:

Whenever we cycle out west, we normally follow the cycle track that runs alongside Sha Tau Kok Road, but the cycle track between the Lung Yeuk Tau turnoff and the junction with Ma Sik Road has been consumed by major construction work as part of the Fanling North New Development Area. There is still a through path, but it isn’t a lot of fun to ride, and in any case we are supposed to dismount and push our bikes. Needless to say, however, we have a perfectly acceptable ride-around, and the first time we followed this option, I spotted these two very basic tags on an industrial building:

If I’m in the area, I invariably stop for a short break in On Lok Tsuen Garden, which is located next to Sha Tau Kok Road (On Lok is a ‘ghost’ village—it no longer exists, but the name is preserved in the names of roads and this small park). On one such rest stop, I spotted the next graffito on the wall of an industrial building adjoining the garden:

Although it appeared just a couple of months ago, it doesn’t seem to have weathered particularly well.

Most of the graffiti that I’ve seen in the industrial zone are on the walls of cross lanes, but the next graffito is on a corrugated fence on On Kui Street, a major thoroughfare through the area:

The final four photos in this collection show graffiti in a cross lane behind the camera in the previous photo:

The robotic face is a common motif that I’ve seen in several locations, but I particularly like the skateboarder:

I’ve photographed graffiti on this wall before, but like the two previous images, these are new:

And that concludes my survey of graffiti that I’ve seen during the past seven months in Hong Kong. However, Paula and I will be going to Toronto in August for a family wedding, and I will be on the lookout for graffiti there during our visit.

cycling in the sticks

Yesterday, Paula and I cycled down to Shatin, where there is an extensive network of dedicated cycle tracks. The plan was to check out some of these tracks that we’d never cycled along before, but I also wanted to photograph a mural that we’d cycled past last week without stopping. This photo was taken from the northernmost bridge across the Shing Mun River that carries a cycle track:

It isn’t obvious from this photo, but there is a cycle track running along the riverbank here. The existence of a major highway directly behind the cycle track is indicated by the road sign.

It isn’t possible to get far enough away to capture the entire mural in a single photo, so I’ve arranged the following photos in order from left to right so that you can get some idea of the layout of the imagery.

This is the left-hand section of the mural:

…and this is a closer view of the left-hand end:

I didn’t notice the waterfall and lake when taking the photos, and I have no idea of the intended purpose of the vertical columns, whether they are supporting the sky or the highway above and behind the mural.

This is the central section:

It may not be obvious, but there are two monkeys in the background that are also riding bicycles. I did think that they could have been intended to be bears, except that there are no bears in Hong Kong, while macaques are indigenous, although I haven’t seen one for quite a few years. This is a closer look at one of them:

This is the right-hand section of the mural:

…and this is a closer view of the right-hand end:

Notice that the ‘columns’ extend all the way to the corner where the mural bends forward towards the cycle track, which isn’t the case at the left-hand end.

I imagine that this mural is intended to celebrate cycling in Hong Kong, although when we cycle along this track there isn’t a lot of traffic. However, we never come this way on weekends and public holidays nowadays, because based on our experience more than a decade ago, when we used to cycle to Sham Chung on the Sai Kung Peninsula, all the cycle tracks hereabouts are literally clogged with cyclists, and it isn’t a lot of fun to have to navigate a way through.

creepy crawlies

I discovered recently that Paula has been photographing caterpillars, beetles and sundry other insects without my being aware of her endeavours. However, given how exotic many of the creatures are whose images she has captured, when I saw them my immediate reaction was to think that her efforts deserve a wider audience. So here they are, with occasional comments by me, although I’m unable to provide formal identification.

I don’t know where any of the first five photos were taken, but I’ll start with a strikingly exotic caterpillar:

I think that this is a praying mantis:

…but this definitely is one:

I don’t know whether the next subject is a rhinoceros beetle, but it certainly has an extended proboscis:

The next photo was taken on the top bar of the railing that runs alongside the path across ‘the swamp’, a waterlogged area on the southern edge of Lung Yeuk Tau that we walk through regularly. I would swear that this caterpillar has a face:

All the following photos that have a green background were taken on this railing.

I think that this is a cicada:

Three hairy caterpillars:

This caterpillar is being menaced by ants:

I think that this is another praying mantis:

A short video of a hairy caterpillar:

Two colourful beetles:

I’ve no idea what this is, and it is overexposed, but I still feel that it’s a worthwhile inclusion in this collection:

Four more caterpillars:

The final photo isn’t of an insect, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to post it. The recent heavy rains have brought giant snails out in large numbers (this one is about 10cm long):

And that’s a selection of all the creepy crawly photos that Paula has taken over the past few weeks. I shall have to be more observant next year.