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December 13, 2025 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got itThis article is part of Traveller\u2019s guide to luxury cruising. See all stories.<\/a><\/p>\n Hong Kong\u2019s Victoria Harbour is a showstopper, its deep waters alive with motorboats, water taxis and sightseeing cruisers, while its promenade buzzes with dining and cultural attractions.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me again why we\u2019re not sticking around?\u201d asks my husband, who has clearly abdicated all trip planning responsibility to me.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first full day of our 15-day cruise, and given we have visited Hong Kong before, the plan (my plan) is to spend our shore day exploring beyond the city. I\u2019d heard about a hidden, open-air gallery \u2013 and I\u2019m keen to find it.<\/p>\n Being a mid-sized cruise ship, Viking Venus is docked right amid the action near the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier, rather than Kai Tak terminal, where the large ships must go. That\u2019s the cruise jackpot you want to win.<\/p>\n In minutes, we\u2019ve tapped on at the turnstile ($HK5\/$1), found a spot on the upper deck and are bouncing across the harbour for the 10-minute ferry crossing from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. From here it\u2019s a 60-minute ferry ride to Lantau Island ($HK28.60\/$5.55) and a short stroll to Silver Mine Bay Beach.<\/p>\n The water looks tempting, but I\u2019m here in search of birds, not beaches. Not just any avians, but a flock of murals painted on abandoned buildings scattered throughout Wang Tong village. A pin on Google maps is my only clue.<\/p>\n We plunge headfirst into the scrub behind the beach, where overgrown pathways twist between towering trees with tangled vines hanging like pythons. Whitewashed buildings, once someone\u2019s pride and joy, lie derelict, now smothered in moss, windows missing, roofs long gone. There\u2019s vegetation running riot and the silence broken only by bird song.<\/p>\n We spot a yellow-browed warbler painted on the ruins of a farmhouse, its mustard feathers blending with the greenery. Further along we come face-to-beak with a red-billed blue magpie, while a white-throated kingfisher looks down from his perch on a pipe near a river.<\/p>\n The Flock Project is a collaboration between Dominic Johnson-Hill, a locally based mix-media artist (@plastered8) and Rob Aspire (@aspireartwork), a British street artist who specialises in bird murals. These are \u201cpaintings with a purpose\u201d, designed to reflect Lantau\u2019s rich biodiversity, while raising awareness about conservation.<\/p>\n I\u2019d contacted Johnson-Hill through social media, who told me the art walk started randomly in 2020. \u201cA friend played a trick on me by placing a discarded painting he\u2019d found in a local garbage bin outside my house\u201d he said. \u201cWe collected more and started to decorate the whole alleyway between an abandoned house and an old pigsty.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson-Hill began printing his own artworks and placing pop art and sculptures around the abandoned buildings. \u201cI usually stick up a big collection every four months,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a new flock of birds coming towards the end of this year.\u201d<\/p>\n A Wang Tong Art Walk sign, created out of colourful wooden children\u2019s blocks, marks the entrance. The first clue that this is no ordinary gallery comes from Plastered 8\u2019s Monster Control series; a swimmer with a rifle in her arms \u2013 Synchronised Revolution – confirms it.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a creepy statue of a soldier laughing, a green-haired woman smoking a cigarette, and posters about the world of Chinese entertainment TV. QR codes provide information about some installations, others have me scratching my head.<\/p>\n Exiting the art walk, we spend an easy hour wandering the settled part of the village. There are no roads or cars, just a tangle of narrow pathways that could belong to another century. We cross canals by small footbridges and wave to people tending vegetable gardens or peddling past in trishaws.<\/p>\n We may not have visited any glitzy shopping malls or museums, but for less than $10 we\u2019ve discovered Hong Kong\u2019s most secret gallery.<\/p>\n The details Cruise Art Fly More The writer was a guest of Viking Cruises.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter<\/p>\n Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.<\/a><\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"\u201cSynchronised](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/5b634e1fd6ccbbccf511ffbccd0048c0da9120b9.jpeg\")
\u201cSynchronised Revolution\u201d \u2013 an installation at Hong Kong\u2019s secret gallery.Dominic Johnson-Hill<\/p>\n![\"Birdlife](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/02c418987454f3b08cb43232e7124c3b3d0b284e.jpeg\")
Birdlife at Wang Tong art walk.Dominic Johnson-Hill<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4429fded340fed8c2d1beb86226af96c037bf912.jpeg\")
The art walk.<\/p>\n![\"Plastered](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/f8495ad50147def47e12ee28f33b0ffc502f1ca4.jpeg\")
Plastered 8\u2019s Monster Control series.Dominic Johnson-Hill<\/p>\n![\"Mid-sized](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/d19017c0e1ad4ed9ca30106d1c602d16adb0d726.jpeg\")
Mid-sized Viking Venus can go where larger ships can\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Viking Cruise\u2019s 15-day Far Eastern Horizons cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo (or reverse) is priced from $16,195 a person, based on double occupancy; a companion flies free up to $2500 a booking. All meals, beer, wine and soft drinks with onboard lunch and dinner, one shore excursion in every port of call, Wi-Fi, gratuities and speciality dining are included. See viking.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Wang Tong Art Walk is open to the public for free, year-round. At night the art walk comes alive with solar-powered lighting. See Instagram @wangtongart<\/p>\n
Qantas flies daily direct from Sydney and Melbourne to Hong Kong. See qantas.com<\/a><\/p>\n
discoverhongkong.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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