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Bolshoi principal dancer Yulia Stepanova dances The Swan in Shenzhen on May 14. Photo: Zhan Jiangjuan/Pingshan Theatre
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | A surfeit of talent on show from Bolshoi Ballet in Shenzhen

With 10 principal dancers and numerous soloists, the famed Russian company performed classic and modern pieces with precision and grace.

Music

‘First orchestra that trusted in Mahler’ hosts celebration of his music

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Tourism

Museum of migration should serve as ‘a memory’, its Chinese architect says

European cinema

The pain of Russian creatives both home and abroad depicted by filmmaker

Filmmaker Roman Liberov uses film, music and poetry to bring to life the struggles of Russian artists caught up in their country’s politics.

Russian filmmaker Roma Liberov addresses the audience at a concert he organised in memory of Pavel Kushnir, a pianist who died in a Russian prison in 2024, in a church in London, England, on May 10, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Russian filmmaker Roma Liberov addresses the audience at a concert he organised in memory of Pavel Kushnir, a pianist who died in a Russian prison in 2024, in a church in London, England, on May 10, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Books and literature

Short stories by 007 writer Ian Fleming, Graham Greene see the light

Quarterly magazine surfaces unpublished short stories The Shameful Dream by Ian Fleming and Graham Greene’s ghost tale Reading at Night.

What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this weekend May 16-18

A gin extravaganza at PMQ, a talk about ageing well followed by a run or walk, opera, and a luxury handbag pop-up await you this weekend.

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Macau

How House of Dancing Water reboot in Macau adds Asian elements

Look out for swordplay with elements of tai chi and baguazhang in new House of Dancing Water, says its martial arts director Jaden He Jingde.

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Look out for swordplay with elements of tai chi and baguazhang in the new House of Dancing Water show in Macau, says its martial arts director, Jaden He Jingde. Photo: House of Dancing Water
Look out for swordplay with elements of tai chi and baguazhang in the new House of Dancing Water show in Macau, says its martial arts director, Jaden He Jingde. Photo: House of Dancing Water
Art

Hong Kong poster art show organisers sought the ‘crazy stuff out there’

Postapalooza festival exhibition at Heath in Tsim Sha Tsui seen by its organisers as a riposte to Hong Kong’s ‘dumbed down’ view of design.

Architecture and design

At 90 Moscow’s metro system, the most beautiful in the world, is expanding

Opened on May 15, 1935 during the Stalinist era, the underground railway was designed to impress Muscovites with its opulence.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Precision and passion from pianist Haochen Zhang and Dover Quartet

High-contrast, high-calibre performance of Franck piano quintet caps evening of memorable music-making at Hong Kong’s French May festival.

Pianist Haochen Zhang and the Dover Quartet perform at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall on May 12, 2025. Photo: Kenny Cheung/Premiere Performances of Hong Kong
Music

Borodin Quartet includes Hong Kong in 80th anniversary China tour

The Russian string quartet will be playing music by Shostakovich, Beethoven, Dvorak and Borodin at two concerts in the city.

The Borodin Quartet. Photo: Nikita Sharpan
The Borodin Quartet. Photo: Nikita Sharpan
Music

East coast vs west coast beats, but this time it’s African chimps

Chimpanzees don’t just drum with distinct rhythms but have their own signature styles, a new study of apes in East and West Africa finds.

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Art

Family of Germany’s last emperor ends 99-year dispute over art treasures

The Hohenzollern family had been challenging the German state’s ownership of thousands of artworks and artefacts in museums since 1926.

Art

What does giddy calligraphy auction say about Chinese antiques market?

Observers of Chinese classical art market wary of reading too much into auction of calligraphy scroll for 25 times its low presale estimate.

Calligraphy in Cursive Script, a 14th century scroll by Rao Jie, which sold for HK$250.1 million including fees at Sotheby’s after a 95-minute bidding war. Photo: Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Mr Blank 2.0 a dazzling but brutal lament about surveillance

Work by Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company, with its ‘trapped’ performers and manhandled women, is more horror than moral tale.

A scene from Mr Blank 2.0 by Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company. Photo: Carmen So
A scene from Mr Blank 2.0 by Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company. Photo: Carmen So
Music

‘We do big opera in a small space,’ says director of minimalist productions

Heartbeat Opera members talk about putting on minimalist operas and how their reimagined classics have won over New York audiences.

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Photography

Tokyo toilets leave Hong Kong-based photographer flush with success

Hong Kong-based Ulana Switucha won a 2025 Sony World Photography Award for her photos of Tokyo public toilets. She explains their draw.

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Art

Watching art restorers the new lure for visitors to Paris museum

Orsay Museum lets visitors watch art restoration, usually done behind closed doors, as experts scrape 50 years of grime off a Courbet work.

An art restorer carefully removes layers of varnish that have yellowed over time as he works on Gustave Courbet’s painting titled A Burial at Ornans at the Orsay Museum in Paris. Photo: AFP
An art restorer carefully removes layers of varnish that have yellowed over time as he works on Gustave Courbet’s painting titled A Burial at Ornans at the Orsay Museum in Paris. Photo: AFP
History

Berlin’s Holocaust memorial turns 20 but would Germans rather forget?

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has been visited by millions but fears exist that Germany’s tradition of remembrance is eroding.

Art

Echoes of Picasso in Bob Dylan art going on show in London

London’s Halcyon Gallery to show 97 works by artist and musician Bob Dylan, inviting viewers to explore the profound stories he tells.

Auctions

Sotheby’s calls last-minute halt to Hong Kong auction of Buddha relics

Sale by family of 19th century British engineer of ‘duplicates’ of sacred relics he found in India called illegal by Indian government.

Some of the sacred Budddhist relics pulled from sale in Hong Kong by auctioneers Sotheby’s after the intervention of the Indian government. Photo: AFP
Food and Drinks

Can AI be a secret ingredient for restaurants? Top chefs weigh in

Some chefs say kitchens will have to ‘move with the times’ and embrace AI; others argue there is ‘nothing more beautiful than nature’.

French-Israeli chef Matan Zaken at his Michelin-star restaurant Nhome in Paris. He is an advocate of using artificial intelligence to create new recipes and flavour combinations. Photo: AFP
French-Israeli chef Matan Zaken at his Michelin-star restaurant Nhome in Paris. He is an advocate of using artificial intelligence to create new recipes and flavour combinations. Photo: AFP
Music

‘This is for you, Michael’. Tilson Thomas’ final bow in San Francisco

Conductor who led San Francisco Symphony for 25 years received musical tribute as he took the podium for last time amid renewed cancer fight.

What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this weekend May 9-11

Support Hong Kong bakers, and charity, at a ‘cake social’, check out poster art or grab your yoga mat for a new moon retreat with gongs.

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Fame and celebrity

Pinstripes to zoot suits, stars put on the style for 2025 Met Gala

Lewis Hamilton chose an ivory beret, co-host Colman Domingo a pleated blue cape as a host of stars joined fashion’s biggest party of 2025.

Zendaya poses on the red carpet for the 2025 Met Gala on May 5, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
Chen Rui, known online as @trumpbyryan and by his English name Ryan, is a content creator from Chongqing, China known for imitating Donald Trump. Photo: @trumpbyryan/ Instagram

The influencer from China who speaks exactly like Donald Trump

Chen Rui, a Chinese marketer who went viral for his spot on Trump impressions, teaches English through his social media.

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There was little festive cheer 75 years ago, as the Battle of Hong Kong raged to a bloody conclusion. Some of the people who lived through the invasion recall how they suddenly found themselves in a war zone

The Battle of Hong Kong: eyewitness accounts

Reading Time:11 minutes
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André Fu in his office in Hong Kong. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Bangkok’s landmark Dusit Thani hotel reimagined by André Fu

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The good, bad and ugly sides to a holiday in Kathmandu, Nepal

The good, bad and ugly sides to being a tourist in Kathmandu

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View from the Patan Museum looking onto Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: Getty Images

Insiders’ guide to Kathmandu, 3 city states that became the Nepalese capital

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Hong Kong artist Chow Chun-fai’s Interview the Interviewer II series of paintings will be on display at Art Basel Hong Kong’s Insights sector. Photo: SC Gallery

The best inspiration is found at home, this artist finds

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