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People enter and leave a train at Komsomolskaya metro station in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Reuters

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.

5 hours ago

Holiday stays with a difference in Japan – in working railway stations

15 May 2025 - 8:15AM

Airbnb now offers in-home chefs, massages alongside home stays

14 May 2025 - 7:15PM

K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

Soft power at heart of China-South Korea thaw, with benefits for K-pop fans

Chinese fans of K-pop, K-dramas and Korean beauty products no longer need unofficial channels. Korean tourists relish easier entry to China.

14 May 2025 - 6:02PM

Hip-hop trio Homies were among the first Korean acts to perform in mainland China after an unofficial ban on K-pop concerts, imposed in 2016 in response to South Korea’s deployment of a US missile system, was lifted. Photo: homieduel_homies/Instagram

4 places in Tokyo to try sento running, exercise based around bathhouses

Go to a bathhouse, rent a locker and running gear, go for a run, return for a bath or shower, and sauna. This is sento running, big in Japan.

13 May 2025 - 12:54PM

Why Shunde in southern China is heaven for Cantonese food lovers

A Unesco-designated City of Gastronomy, Shunde is hailed by many as the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine and offers a lot more besides.

12 May 2025 - 3:51PM

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Reasons to visit Basel, the Swiss city hosting Eurovision 2025

Basel, about to host Eurovision Song Contest fans, boasts dazzling architecture old and new, art museums and a cleaned up River Rhine.

10 May 2025 - 5:25PM

A barge sailing on tht River Rhine with the towers housing the headquarters of Swiss pharma giant Roche and the cathedral (right) in Basel. Photo: AFP

Chinese culture

Melbourne’s Chinatown, born from 1850s gold rush and thriving today

Things to do in Melbourne’s Chinatown, which survived ‘White Australia’ laws limiting non-British migration to become a vibrant cultural hub.

12 May 2025 - 1:52PMvideocam

Cigarette factory puts a Chinese city on the map for tourists

Yuxi has a growing tourist industry centred on its tobacco and cigarette production, showing how hard it is for China to curb smoking.

10 May 2025 - 2:45PM

Food and Drinks

You want to eat well in Japan? Skip ramen queues, TikTok and Google

To eat well in Japan, scan Japanese website for gourmets Tabelog, don’t be late for your reservations and leave room for serendipity.

10 May 2025 - 9:42AM

Dishes making up a kaiseki experience. If you are staying in a ryokan-style hotel, this kind of menu will be part of the experience. Photo: Shutterstock

TV shows and streaming video

Ewan McGregor on the vintage bikes in Apple TV+’s Long Way Home

GPS, drones, Insta360s, GoPros and … vintage motorbikes? McGregor and Charley Boorman’s road trip around Europe mixes technology old and new.

9 May 2025 - 7:15PM

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, stars of Long Way Home. Photo: Apple TV+ via AP

Artificial intelligence

Lost something on a train? How AI is helping people recover their stuff

A new ‘lost-and-found platform’ at various stations and other locations in Japan is having much success in reuniting people with their items.

8 May 2025 - 4:15PM

Disney to build theme park in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, its seventh

Abu Dhabi developer to fund project on Yas Island, already home to other amusement parks, SeaWorld and a water park.

8 May 2025 - 9:44AM

How a Hong Kong digital nomad artist widened her colour palette with travel

Sarah Tse, who spends most of the year on the road, creates works inspired by the diverse landscapes she encounters, from Africa to Finland.

9 May 2025 - 2:02PM

“This painting portrays my experience cat-sitting for a friend in New
York,” says Hong Kong artist Sarah Tse. Photo: Sarah Tse

Books and literature

He ‘didn’t really know’ his mum before. After their 700km walk, he does

Tobias Schlegl’s relationship with his mother, though warm, lacked real depth – until they set out together on a historic pilgrimage route.

8 May 2025 - 4:15AM

Tobias Schlegl walked the Camino de Santiago with his 73-year-old mother, Sieglinde. Photo: X/@Tobias Schlegl

Food and Drinks

Martinis to Cosmopolitans, where 7 classic cocktails were created

James Bond’s tipple first appeared in New York’s Times Square. Black Russians aren’t from Russia. Cocktail origins from Paris to Puerto Rico.

7 May 2025 - 7:15PM

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.

7 May 2025 - 5:15PM

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8 precautions for travellers to the US, including having a burner phone

From encryption to deleting social media apps to leaving devices at home, advice on how to protect your digital privacy at the US border.

7 May 2025 - 7:17AM

A US Customs and Border Protection officer at the US-Mexico border. Photo: TNS

What to do in Hong Kong

Scuba divers talk up potential for the sport’s growth in Hong Kong

Hong Kong supports a diversity of coral and fish, even if its waters are murky, pair say. They suggest ways to attract more scuba divers.

5 May 2025 - 1:01PM

Artificial intelligence

Visa charges ahead with plans for AI to go shopping with your credit card

Visa is working on an AI that searches for goods and services and buys them for you, while checking past transactions to send you ads.

4 May 2025 - 5:15PM

How can you avoid carry-on baggage fees? Pay attention to airline rules

Avoid travel shocks by knowing the hand luggage limits for your intended airline, from Lufthansa to American Airlines to easyJet to Ryanair.

4 May 2025 - 4:15PM

hand-luggage compartment with hand-luggage in an airplane Shutterstock

Korean peninsula

Korean bunker cafe near North-South border serves message of peace

At Daonsoop cafe in South Korea, patrons sip coffee with views of the North 2km away. Reunification-themed art hangs in its mandatory bunker.

6 May 2025 - 5:43PMvideocam

North Korea seen from inside the bunker at Daonsoop cafe. Photo: AFP

From murals to indigenous art, Darwin, Australia’s culture draws

With its street art, displays of indigenous painting, and prehistoric rock paintings nearby, Darwin is a hub of cultures ancient and modern.

8 May 2025 - 9:31AM

Fame and celebrity

Balkan hotel’s turbulent century, from glamorous guests to Gestapo

Elizabeth Taylor hung out in its bar, world leaders were its guests, wars intruded. The Hotel Esplanade Zagreb has seen a lot in 100 years.

3 May 2025 - 9:53PMvideocam

Need a home delivery of gold? In Dubai, there’s an app for that

Buy gold using Careem app in Dubai and have it delivered to your door by Uber. Service launches ahead of Hindu festival where metal is lucky.

1 May 2025 - 12:15PM

Dubai-based app Careem can be used to buy 24-carat gold coins. Orders worth up to US$2,700 can be delivered to your door by Uber. Photo: Instagram/@careemuae

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.

Reading Time:3 minutes

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

André Fu in his office in Hong Kong. Photo: Jocelyn Tam

Bangkok’s landmark Dusit Thani hotel reimagined by André Fu

Reading Time:6 minutes

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

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

Reading Time:4 minutes

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

Reading Time:5 minutes

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

Reading Time:5 minutes

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