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Chinese culture

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A firefighter shoots water at a fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on November 26, 2025. All eight buildings on the estate had been covered in bamboo scaffolding amid ongoing renovation works. Photo: Eugene Lee
Hong Kong culture

Should Hong Kong abandon bamboo scaffolding after Tai Po fire tragedy?

Hong Kong’s iconic bamboo scaffolding holds much cultural significance, but will the Wang Fuk Court blaze see the end of its use?

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Chinese culture

How one factory is keeping Hong Kong’s porcelain craft alive

Chinese zodiac predictions

Is the Year of the Snake’s 10th month lucky for you? Forecasts for all signs

Chinese culture

Shameful period? How China’s Qing dynasty brought both wealth and humiliation

China’s final dynasty saw the arts and economy thrive under Manchu rule. But internal and external struggles corroded centuries of stability.

The Qianlong Emperor was the fifth emperor of China’s Qing dynasty, reigning from 1735-1796. Under the Manchus, China’s final dynasty was marked by flourishing arts and economic growth. But in 1912, the imperial system that had survived for centuries collapsed as the country entered the modern era.
The Qianlong Emperor was the fifth emperor of China’s Qing dynasty, reigning from 1735-1796. Under the Manchus, China’s final dynasty was marked by flourishing arts and economic growth. But in 1912, the imperial system that had survived for centuries collapsed as the country entered the modern era.
Food and Drinks

2025 or 1625? Diners at new Beijing restaurant ‘time travel’ to ancient China

Yan Wai Yan dishes up an eight-act period performance with an eight-course meal and provides hanfu clothing for those wishing to dress up.

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Books and literature

China’s crackdown on same-sex love stories leaves women ‘less happy’

Despite the largest crackdown yet, danmei stories are still available in China – but they are far tamer and, some say, just not as good.

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Chinese culture

The Monkey King of Chinese mythology leaps to life in new opera in the US

The mischievous Monkey King has been brought to life on stage in a ‘magical kung fu opera’ in the US, through song, dance, puppetry and more.

Tenor Kang Wang (centre) rehearses for The Monkey King, which tells the story of the legendary Monkey King’s journey through opera, on November 6, 2025, in San Francisco. Photo: San Francisco Opera via AP
Tenor Kang Wang (centre) rehearses for The Monkey King, which tells the story of the legendary Monkey King’s journey through opera, on November 6, 2025, in San Francisco. Photo: San Francisco Opera via AP
Chinese culture

How China’s Ming dynasty brought us everything from porcelain to novels

The prosperous Ming dynasty restored Han Chinese rule after the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and introduced numerous cultural and social changes.

Chinese culture

How China changed during the Yuan dynasty, when Mongols ruled

Mongol rulers shook up Chinese society as Silk Road trade routes thrived, paper money became common and China’s influence in Eurasia grew.

Chinese culture

New Zealand artist Ant Sang on his Chinese heritage, ‘loyalty’ to Cantonese

New Zealand artist and illustrator Ant Sang is connecting with his Chinese heritage with a Cantonese-phrased Cantotees T-shirt collection.

Ant Sang, a fifth-generation Chinese-New Zealander, wears one of his Cantotees t-shirts. Photo: Delia Sang
Chinese zodiac predictions

Is Year of the Snake’s ninth month lucky for you? Forecasts for all signs

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan breaks down this lunar month’s prospects for love, career, health and finance for the 12 Chinese zodiac signs.

How’s your luck in the Year of the Snake’s ninth month? Feng shui master Andrew Kwan gives his predictions for all 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs. Photo: Shutterstock
How’s your luck in the Year of the Snake’s ninth month? Feng shui master Andrew Kwan gives his predictions for all 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs. Photo: Shutterstock
Chinese culture

Agarwood can sell for US$25,000 a kilo. But this ‘black gold’ has a dark side

Used primarily for incense, especially in Hong Kong, agarwood suffers from a dark side to its trade: a multibillion-dollar illegal market.

Chinese culture

The Song dynasty was a great time for China. But a terrible one for many women

While the Song dynasty saw huge advancements in culture, commerce and technology, it also gave rise to the horrific practice of foot binding.

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Chinese culture

How the prosperous Tang dynasty took Chinese culture to new heights

As China’s influence grew abroad, cultural exchange helped open society, leading to innovations in the arts and the birth of tea culture.

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Tang-dynasty pottery is seen at “Tang Vogue Beyond the Horizons: A Golden Era of Multicultural Integration and Openness”, an exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre, in Kowloon Park, which runs until the end of the year. Photo: Nora Tam
Art

How Chinese landscape paintings reflect changing art styles through history

From divine visions to expressions of the self, the evolution of ink landscape painting reflects wider changes in Chinese art over centuries.

Clouds over the River before Rain (1504), painted by Chinese landscape artist Shen Zhou during the Ming dynasty (1369-1644). Photo: Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images
Clouds over the River before Rain (1504), painted by Chinese landscape artist Shen Zhou during the Ming dynasty (1369-1644). Photo: Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images
Books and literature

Hong Kong-born poet stunned into silence by detractors finds voice again

Sarah Howe’s new collection comes a decade after her TS Eliot Prize win as a young part-Chinese female was met with racism and misogyny.

Chinese culture

How China’s Han dynasty forged a unified cultural and national identity

Knowledge spread and the arts flourished during this golden age of Chinese history, as the country opened up to international trade.

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Chinese culture

How the Qin dynasty forever changed the Chinese nation in just 15 years

From standardising writing and currency to burying scholars alive, Qin Shi Huang ruled China’s first imperial dynasty with might and fury.

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An illustration shows the burning of Confucian letters opposing the Legalism of the Qin dynasty under the rule of Qin Shi Huang. The emperor also ordered the execution of hundreds of Confucian scholars by burying them alive. Photo: Bridgeman via Getty Images
An illustration shows the burning of Confucian letters opposing the Legalism of the Qin dynasty under the rule of Qin Shi Huang. The emperor also ordered the execution of hundreds of Confucian scholars by burying them alive. Photo: Bridgeman via Getty Images
SCMP Highlights

Cantonese lessons from a kid, Chinese chef sparks debate: 7 Lifestyle highlights

From a Hong Kong filmmaker’s political themes to Bali’s first contemporary art fair, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

Hong Kong culture

Want to learn Cantonese? Take lessons from this 8-year-old from Hong Kong

Aiden Tsang makes learning Cantonese fun with his cute Instagram videos that get likes from Jimmy O. Yang and other Hong Kong celebrities.

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Chinese culture

Where do mooncakes come from? Origin myths and folktales

There are many versions of the mooncake’s origin, from one that honours a woman’s sacrifice to another that sees the end of a ruling dynasty.

Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 1484231876 - Hands holding mooncake mid autumn festival
Food and Drinks

Why dishes from China’s Yunnan province can taste so much like Thai food

Spicy, aromatic dishes are hallmarks of both Yunnan and Thailand, whose shared ancestry makes them the equivalent of culinary cousins.

A dish of Dali wild fruit sour soup, a favourite in China’s Yunnan province. The dish is very similar to Thailand’s tom yum soup. Photo: The Mushroom
A dish of Dali wild fruit sour soup, a favourite in China’s Yunnan province. The dish is very similar to Thailand’s tom yum soup. Photo: The Mushroom
Chinese culture

Is Year of the Snake’s eighth month lucky for you? Forecasts for all signs

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan breaks down this lunar month’s prospects for love, career, health and finance for the 12 Chinese zodiac signs.

SCMP Highlights

A Cantopop DJ trio, a daughter shares dementia truths: 7 Lifestyle highlights

From overtourism reshaping life for local Japanese to a Hong Kong Cantopop DJ trio, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

Chinese culture

How China’s earliest 3 dynasties shaped its society and culture

From 2070BC to 256BC, the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties paved the way for Chinese society with Taoism, written language, music and more.

A Chinese oracle bone from the Shang dynasty (1600BC-1046BC) at Hong Kong’s Chinese Culture Festival 2025. Inscriptions on these bones are the most ancient form of written Chinese ever found. Photo: Nora Tam
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