The great thing about street art is that there’s no set date when the art “exhibition” ends. It stays intact in the same place, at least till the next year when HKwalls reuses some walls to spray paint new artworks! That explains the mashup of HKwalls’ work last year and this year. I went to check out HKwalls’s art before HKwalls 2015 in March this year and saw a few works from HKwalls 2014. But when I went again to see the new works, I realized that a few walls had been repainted!

HKwalls is a street art and graffiti group that invites local Hong Kong and international street artists to paint on walls in Hong Kong. If you’re familiar with Hong Kong, you will know that Hong Kong is not a clean place – at all. Many walls have “real” graffiti on them, so it’s great to see street art on ole Hong Kong walls instead.

Sinic Behind SinSin, 2015

HKwalls started last year in 2014 and painted walls at Sheung Wan. This year, they continued painting at Sheung Wan and also added Stanley Market to their locations. I haven’t seen their works at Stanley, but if I’m not wrong, it can only be seen at night or on public holidays, because they painted on store shutters. I should plan a trip to Stanley for the next public holiday now. ;)

Parent’s Parents, 2014

4Get X Stern Rockwell, 2014

WAIS, 2014 (still on view)

CATHLOVE, EDGE, ROES, ROOKIE, MR. OGAY, DEBE, 2014 (still on view)

I have to thank HKwalls for giving me a reason to brave the treacherous slopes at the upper reaches of Sheung Wan/Central. I started at the highest point of Sheung Wan where HKwalls has painted walls at Po Hing Fong (PoHo) and Tai Ping Shan. Tai Ping Shan is getting more popular as the “hipster” area of Hong Kong and funnily enough, after this trip to Tai Ping Shan, I was stopped in the street a couple of times by strangers who wanted to know how to get to Tai Ping Shan. I don’t have a good answer… but if you’re feeling up to venturing slopey frontiers, my way of getting to PoHo / Tai Ping Shan is at the end of this post!

Of course, the slopes are all part of the quiet charm of PoHo. Say NO to the Pound Lane escalator!

Stern Rockwell, 2015

The upper Sheung Wan / Central area is a little artsy itself, with fun anonymous drawings on the walls.

Street art blocked by a car – Example #1:

Used Pencil

Caught WE5 / Shibaland in action too! :D

Street art blocked by a car – Example #2:

Felipe Pantone, 2015

GANTZ5, 2015

Jay Flow, 2015

Barlo, 2015

Egg Fiasco, 2015

Artime Joe, 2015

EXLD, 2015

GANTZ5, 2015

There’s an alley with many HKwalls art one after the after, and there was even a couple taking wedding photos at this artsy alley (seen in cover photo)! This is definitely a good idea for wedding photos!

Rukkit, 2015

I didn’t see all of HKwalls’ work because I must have inevitably missed a street somehow or another, but check out HKwalls’s website here for their helpful maps that indicate the locations of all the street art.

On getting there, Sheung Wan / Central is terribly slope-y so I found a way to start from above and walk all the way down while viewing street art! Makes life a lot easier. Also, go check out my sister’s post here to find out more about PoHo!

1. Take the MTR to Sai Ying Pun station, Exit C.
2. Turn left and walk along Bonham Road and Caine Road for about 10-15 minutes and you will see a kinda-hidden staircase on Ladder Street.
3. Option 1 (which I took) – Walk down one flight of the long, long stairs, turn left and reach the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences. After the Museum, there will be another long staircase and you will reach PoHo.
4. Option 2 – Walk down the entire flight of stairs and you will reach Bridges Street. Turn left and keep walking and there will be probably be another short staircase. This is direct to Tai Ping Shan Street.

I spent about an hour and half in all, and after seeing Rukkit’s piece, it took about 5 mins to walk to Western Market. I hope these directions are helpful and have fun viewing art! Or really, the best transportation option would be to take a cab. ;D