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Chinese culture

Chinese culture
Latest news and updates on Chinese culture including the country’s traditions, food, values, history and festivals.
Betty Loh Ti (second from right) and Ivy Ling Po (right) in a still from The Love Eterne (1963), directed by Li Han-hsiang. Photo: Shaw Brothers Studio
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

How these 2 films became classics of Hong Kong’s Chinese folk opera cinema

Love Eterne and Dream of the Red Chamber are two very different ‘huangmei diao’ films from legendary Hong Kong director Li Han-hsiang.

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Social media

Ancient Chinese astrology gets a Gen Z rebrand in Southeast Asia

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Asia travel

The Chinese city where waffles, watchtowers and world history meet

Chinese zodiac predictions

Feng shui tips for all 12 Chinese zodiac signs for the Year of the Horse 2026

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan shares where each Chinese zodiac sign can place items for good luck in the Year of the Fire Horse.

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Customers choose colored glaze snake handicrafts for the coming Chinese New Year, the Year of Snake, in Xiye Colored Glaze Studio in Boshan district, Zibo city, Shandong province, China, on Jan. 9, 2025. With a long history of colored glaze, Boshan is regarded as China’s Hometown of Colored Glaze and has 12 colored glaze enterprises and 65 art studios. (Xinhua) 新华社照片，淄博（山东），2025年1月9日 1月9日，消费者在淄博市博山区西冶工坊展销厅内挑选蛇年主题琉璃工艺品。 春节临近，山东省淄博市博山区的琉璃生产企业推出众多蛇年主题创意琉璃制品，受到市场青睐。博山区被誉为“中国琉璃之乡“，琉璃生产历史悠久，当地已发展琉璃生产企业12家、工作室65个。 新华社记者 朱峥 摄
Food and Drinks

Chinese food, but make it fine dining? Chefs push back against stereotypes

Forget fast food in boxes: chefs at upscale restaurants in the US are elevating Chinese cuisine to fine dining status, tasting menus and all.

Chinese zodiac predictions

Feng shui advice for Snakes for luck in money, health and romance

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan shares where Snakes can put lucky coloured items at home and work for luck in the Year of the Fire Horse.

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Banking & finance

HK$10,000 bonus, extra day off: Hong Kong banks reward staff returning to work

Bank of China (Hong Kong) is giving away hampers, ZA Bank is paying a HK$10,000 bonus, while HSBC and Hang Seng are offering HK$500.

Banks in Hong Kong are offering generous return-to-work lai see packets and gifts to their employees. Photo: Jelly Tse
US-China relations

Born in China, raised in US: adoptees explore their identity at Lunar New Year

Growing up Chinese-American has not been easy for LuLu Grant and Phoebe McChesney, both wanting to fit in, while never too far from the past.

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Lunar New Year

Video | 12 killed by Lunar New Year fireworks blast in China

The explosion at a shop in Hubei came days after a similar incident in Jiangsu that prompted government calls for prevention efforts.

Lunar New Year

Letters | As we celebrate the Lunar New Year, let’s ensure we do better by horses

Readers discuss the exploitation of equine animals, the spirit of Ramadan in Hong Kong, and why members of the ethnic minority community should master Chinese.

Horse-themed goods on sale at the Lunar New Year market at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on February 15. Photo: Dickson Lee
Food and Drinks

Why do Chinese love water chestnuts? All about the lucky ‘horse’s hoof’

A humble and vastly underrated ingredient, water chestnuts are used in a popular Lunar New Year dessert and also have many health benefits.

The water chestnut, a versatile ingredient known as “horse’s hoof”, is celebrated for its crisp texture and auspicious meaning in Lunar New Year dishes. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Lunar New Year

Opinion | Lunar New Year doesn’t need a home-cooked feast to be full of flavour

The most important thing isn’t if you cooked the food yourself or followed tradition to the letter – it’s being with people you care about.

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Hong Kong society

Breaking the cycle: Hong Kong parents wrestle with impact of their own abuse

Experts urge cultural change to end intergenerational violence as landmark study reveals childhood trauma still shapes parenting patterns.

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Food and Drinks

On the Menu | What do an American reality TV show and Chinese aunties have in common?

A Chinese millennial woman talks fat and fortune as she contrasts the toxic culture of the early noughties with today’s body positivity.

Contestants from the first season of America’s Next Top Model in 2003 in Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. The reality competition, wildly popular during the noughties, often told women that they were “too big” for the runway. Photo: TNS
Hong Kong society

Editorial | Hong Kong should temper optimism with caution in Year of the Horse

Another neutral prophecy puts the onus on the city to proceed with prudence and act to bring about its own good fortune.

Kenneth Lau, chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, takes part in the fortune stick drawing ritual at Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin on February 18, the second day of Lunar New Year. Photo: Jelly Tse
Chinese zodiac predictions

Feng shui advice for Dragons for a lucky, healthy Year of the Horse 2026

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan shares where Dragons can put auspicious items at home and work for fortune in the Year of the Fire Horse.

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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year fireworks dazzle as visitor numbers gallop ahead

City leader John Lee vows to carry out reforms at full speed, says to public ‘let’s march forward bravely and confidently together’ in new year.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

With Blades of the Guardians, Yuen Woo-ping revives the wuxia blockbuster

Hong Kong martial arts choreographer and director Yuen Woo-ping returns with an epic wuxia, starring Wu Jing and Nicholas Tse.

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Wu Jing as Dao Ma in a still from Blades of the Guardians, directed by Yuen Woo-ping, who helped define the martial arts genre in cinema.
Hong Kong society

‘Stay vigilant even in peace,’ rural leader says in Lunar New Year prophecy

Kenneth Lau also calls on city to embrace innovation after drawing ‘neutral’ No 22 fortune stick at Che Kung Temple.

Year of the Horse 2026

When should you open your Lunar New Year red packets? The luckiest time, and why

It is considered rude to open lai see in front of the giver but don’t leave the red packets unopened for more than a couple of months.

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Chinese zodiac predictions

Feng shui advice for Rabbits for luck in money, health and romance

Feng shui master Andrew Kwan shares where Rabbits can put lucky coloured items at home and work for good fortune in the Year of the Fire Horse.

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How can those born in the Year of the Rabbit use feng shui to improve their luck in love, money and health this coming year? Feng shui practitioner Andrew Kwan shares advice. Photo: Shutterstock
China-Latin America relations

Opinion | Why trade alone won’t make China beloved in South America

The path of China-South America relations will be decided in neighbourhoods and kitchens, not just presidential palaces or investment forums.

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Influencers pose for a photo at the launch event of Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 8, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong society

Tens of thousands line streets for Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year night parade

Float parade to mark start of the Year of the Horse begins with an East-meets-West street party.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Blades of the Guardians: Wu Jing leads star-studded Chinese martial arts epic

Starring Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse and Chen Lijun, the visually stunning Blades of the Guardians is one of the fiercest wuxia films in years.

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Chinese zodiac predictions

Which zodiac signs must appease the tai sui in the Year of the Horse 2026?

Horses, Rats, Oxen and Rabbits clash with the tai sui in the Year of the Fire Horse. Here’s how you can mitigate the adverse effects.

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Worshippers visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong on February 16, 2026, to pray for good luck in the Year of the Fire Horse. Photo: Sam Tsang
China economy

Strong Lunar New Year demand fuels China’s gold jewellery market

Retailers offer small discounts to spur holiday sales but are set to raise prices after the festival, as investment banks issue bullish outlooks.

Customers look at gold rings at a jewellery store in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters
Food and Drinks

8 lucky Lunar New Year foods to welcome the Year of the Horse

From dumplings shaped like gold ingots to longevity noodles, these traditional Lunar New Year dishes are eaten to invite good fortune.

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Crazy Rich Asians

Which Crazy Rich Asians star are you, according to the Chinese zodiac?

To celebrate Chinese New Year, we look at the zodiac through the lens of the cultural landmark film, which featured Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong, Awkwafina and Henry Golding.

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