Exploring Aqua Luna Junk: An Iconic Journey Through Hong Kong’s Maritime Heritage And Modern Charm

Published on September 15, 2025

The Aqua Luna Junk is 1 of nan astir recognisable landmarks successful Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. With its vivid reddish sails, this accepted Chinese junk has travel to correspond nan city’s singular blend of its agelong maritime history and modern charm. It glides done nan waters pinch grace, giving visitors a unsocial opportunity to spot Hong Kong from a different perspective and a model into nan city’s illustrious shipbuilding past.

Originally designed successful 2006, nan Aqua Luna was constructed astatine a challenging clip for nan Kwong Ming Shipyard. The task to build a commercialized junk was viewed arsenic a last-ditch effort to prevention nan shipyard, which was facing an uncertain early and less orders. Intricate details, specified arsenic 3 gangly masts and wide reddish sails, distinguished nan vessel from nan accustomed junk recovered successful Hong Kong’s waters.

Craftsmanship Behind nan Aqua Luna

Built by Au Sai-kit and his begetter astatine nan Kwong Ming Shipyard, nan Aqua Luna is simply a testament to their dedication and skill. Located successful Shau Kei Wan, a territory connected Hong Kong Island, nan shipyard has been successful nan family for 3 generations. The shipyard, pinch its two-storey tin-roofed building and greenish sign, is location to a wealthiness of accepted shipbuilding techniques passed down done nan decades.

The Aqua Luna is simply a singular creation, blending modern creation pinch ancient craftsmanship. The woody planks, cautiously crafted to fresh together without nan usage of modern tools, item nan precision and attraction required to build specified a vessel. The junk’s sails, which are made from durable fabric, billow elegantly against nan backdrop of Hong Kong’s skyline. The creation of nan Aqua Luna is an effort to span nan past pinch nan present, offering visitors a chance to acquisition accepted shipbuilding techniques while cruising successful a modern, luxury setting.

Crafting woody junks requires an unthinkable level of precision, arsenic moreover nan smallest correction tin consequence successful mismatched planks aliases leaks. For instance, a correction arsenic mini arsenic a 0.5-centimetre miscalculation could lead to awesome structural issues. This was a situation faced by Au and his begetter arsenic they built nan Aqua Luna, but it was 1 they embraced arsenic an opportunity to showcase their mastery. Despite nan difficulties, nan shipyard was wished to complete nan project, driven by a desire to support nan family business alive.

From Struggles to Success

The communicative of nan Aqua Luna’s creation is not conscionable astir craftsmanship; it’s astir resilience and nan will to accommodate successful nan look of adversity. During nan 1980s, Kwong Ming Shipyard was astatine its peak, producing complete 50% of Hong Kong’s commercialized vessels. The shipyard was responsible for crafting ferry boats and shuttle boats, including those utilized by nan renowned Jumbo Kingdom, 1 of nan world’s largest floating restaurants. However, nan emergence of modern, lighter vessels and precocious worldly costs led to a diminution successful request for accepted woody junks.

By nan early 2000s, nan shipyard had shifted attraction from manufacturing caller ships to repairing and maintaining existing vessels. As request for caller woody junks dwindled, galore shipyards, including Kwong Ming, had to germinate and accommodate to survive. The Aqua Luna project, conceived successful 2006, was a bold move to revitalise nan shipyard’s fortunes, and it succeeded. Today, nan Aqua Luna serves arsenic a cardinal portion of Hong Kong’s tourer landscape, ferrying visitors crossed Victoria Harbour aggregate times each day, offering them a unique, hands-on relationship to nan city’s maritime heritage.

A Journey Through Time

The Aqua Luna, pinch its graceful creation and rich | history, offers overmuch much than a elemental ferry ride. It serves arsenic a surviving awesome of Hong Kong’s maritime past, showcasing nan skills of accepted shipbuilders while offering a modern, luxury acquisition to visitors from astir nan world. As nan vessel glides crossed nan harbour, visitors are treated to stunning views of Hong Kong’s skyline, a testament to nan city’s accelerated improvement and modernisation.

Despite its modern allure, nan Aqua Luna holds a heavy relationship to Hong Kong’s maritime heritage. The vessel’s creation harks backmost to nan aureate property of Chinese junks, which erstwhile dominated nan region’s waters. These accepted boats were known for their stableness successful unsmooth seas and their expertise to enactment cool successful basking weather. The Aqua Luna, for illustration nan junks of old, is simply a robust, reliable vessel, built to strengthen nan harsh conditions of nan sea.

For galore visitors, a travel aboard nan Aqua Luna offers a uncommon opportunity to acquisition a portion of history. It serves arsenic a reminder of nan craftsmanship that erstwhile defined Hong Kong’s maritime industry, and it continues to seizure nan imagination of those who embark connected its journey.

Reviving nan Craft of Shipbuilding

In caller years, nan Kwong Ming Shipyard has go a spot of visit for those willing successful learning astir accepted Chinese shipbuilding. Au Sai-kit, now successful his 60s, is 1 of nan past remaining maestro shipbuilders successful Hong Kong. Despite nan diminution of accepted shipbuilding, he remains committed to keeping nan trade alive, sharing his knowledge pinch younger generations. The shipyard has go a mini depository of sorts, pinch models of junks displayed passim nan building.

Au’s passion for his trade is evident successful nan measurement he speaks astir nan shipyard and nan Aqua Luna. He believes that by educating group astir nan history and value of accepted Chinese shipbuilding, he tin animate a caller procreation to admit nan art. As nan Aqua Luna continues to sail done nan waters of Victoria Harbour, it carries not conscionable visitors but besides nan hopes of a contented that has spanned centuries.

A Lasting Legacy

The Aqua Luna symbolises Hong Kong’s continued ties to its maritime practice and is much than conscionable a tourer destination. The Aqua Luna provides visitors pinch a unsocial position of nan city’s breathtaking skyline from nan h2o while besides acting arsenic a reminder of nan city’s past arsenic it continues to change. A travel connected nan Aqua Luna is basal for anyone who wants to acquisition some Hong Kong’s past and coming successful 1 trip.

Hong Kong is still firmly anchored successful its history moreover arsenic it embraces its future. The Aqua Luna is simply a superb illustration of really contented and modernity tin coexist to nutrient thing genuinely 1 of a kind. It honours skill, tenacity, and nan timeless principle of Hong Kong’s maritime history.

[Image Source: aqualuna Hong Kong Official Website]